Unexpected Consequences
by Major Trouble
Summary: After Endor, Han Solo has to come to terms with the fact that the rest of his life is not going to go the way he'd like it to.
1. Endor's After Party

**Please tell me if you see something that doesn't make sense – grammar, spelling, continuity. I've changed so much of this story so many times that it will be littered with these problems, and I'd like to fix them.**

**For the purpose of this story, screw the post-movies EU. Completely. But if it happened in the movies then it happened.**

**Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with LucasFilm, none of this stuff belongs to me. Damn. No copyright infringement intended.  
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**_Unexpected Consequences_  
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Music echoed through the dark forest and furry Ewoks brushed past Han Solo's legs as he looked around at the dying embers of several bonfires. Bonfires in a village in the trees, where everything was made of wood – was that really such a great idea? He hadn't thought so, but hey, they had done it and despite the hundreds of creatures wandering the platforms, nothing had caught on fire that they hadn't met to catch on fire, save maybe a few scraps of food roasted on a stick.

A light but steady rain had been falling for almost two hours, causing many of the Ewoks and rebel partiers to move inside, something Han was more than happy about. After all, no furry creature smells very good when wet, a fact he knew well from years of living with his faithful Wookiee sidekick, Chewbacca. Looking around, he watched R2 and C-3PO disappear into a hut after Wicket, the small Ewok Leia had run into. You know, the one who hadn't wanted to roast him and the others alive. For some totally unknown reason, Han liked this particular little Ewok better than the others, despite the fact that he was now part of the tribe and they had all helped defeat the Empire. It can take a while to change Han Solo's first impression of someone.

There was a loud growl behind him that caused Han to shake his head. "Nah, I'm all set out here. I like the rain. It calms me."

Why would Han need to be calm? The whole village was one massive party, Han loved to party. Shrugging in wonder, the Wookiee turned and lumbered into the nearest undersized hut. He couldn't stand up as straight as he'd like, of course, but he could sit comfortably enough. Once he did, of course, he was bombarded with young Ewoks, the woklings, who liked to come up to him and climb on his shoulders and see the world from new heights, or attempt to communicate with him through a primitive form of sign language. Some had begun to call him "fruk," which, if he were to believe Threepio, meant "brother." This was a fact he liked to flaunt to the others, since he was the only one with the makeshift title.

Nonetheless, Chewie was grateful when Luke approached and sat next to him, pulling a wokling off the Wookiee's back. The Jedi knight cradled the young creature in his arms, cooing softly to put it at ease. After a few moments and several more woklings, he looked up at Chewie. "Have you seen Leia lately?" he asked curiously. "I haven't been able to find her for a while now. I wanted to talk to her about something." As the question passed his lips, he realized it was useless – he wouldn't understand the response, and Threepio wasn't around to help him out.

The Wookie grumbled a reply, shaking his head and trying to keep his naturally loud voice as quiet as possible. The hut had too many creatures in it and wasn't exactly silent, as more and more tried to get out of the steady rain. It didn't help that rebels were continually showing up as the fleet landed and fought its way through the thick forests to the treetop village. For these same reasons, it wasn't odd that they didn't know where Leia was.

Just as the thought crossed Luke's mind, someone laid a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he looked up into the face of, who else, his sister. "Leia! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for ages."

A glowing smile was plastered on her face as she glanced down at the wokling in his arms. Raising her eyebrows, she replied, "Yes, I see you've been trying very hard."

Following her gaze, Luke's eyes landed on the little wokling, who had fallen asleep. He gave his twin a sheepish grin and caught the attention of the nearest Ewok. He didn't even bother trying to ask the creature anything verbally, knowing that they did not yet understand enough of Basic to figure out what he was asking for. Instead, Luke held up the small being, gesturing with one hand for the older guy to take him. After a few moments that's exactly what happened. Patting the Ewok on the head as a thank you, Luke stood. "I'll talk to you later Chewie," he said, putting a hand on Leia's arm and leading her out of the hut.

Lightning crackled overhead, followed closely by a loud clap of thunder. Despite the downturn in the weather, nothing could stop the energy of the party in the trees, and it took some time to find a relatively quiet place to talk.

The twins eventually ended up alone on a walkway high in the village, leaning on the short railings and looking out at the dark forest. In the distance Luke could see the glow of the rebel fleet. Lights blinked out as rebels left their ships, and though occasionally another ship touched down, in general there were fewer lights by the time Luke spoke than there had been when they got there. "How're you doing?"

She knew what he was talking about, and it wasn't the burn on her arm or anything else about the fight to get the shield generator down. Taking a deep breath, she faced Luke and started, "I've been better. But I've been worse, too." Absentmindedly, she ran a hand through her long, loose hair, unknotting it as she went. "I think that maybe I haven't really accepted it yet."

Luke recognized this with a nod of the head. "If it helps, when you start to accept it, he turned at the end." Knowing she wouldn't understand what he meant right away, he elaborated before she could question him on it. "When I was on the Death Star, I fought with him for a while. Literally. With lightsabers. I cut off his hand like he cut off mine." Luke's voice dropped in volume on the last sentence, but he was gaining momentum. "I told Palpatine that I wouldn't fight anymore, I wouldn't strike down a helpless man, and he shot Force-lightning at me. Vader stepped between us and threw Palpatine into the power core." There was a short pause before he finished, "He saved my life."

The story caused Leia to shiver as she realized how close she had come to losing her only brother. "What happened after that?" she asked. She couldn't deny that a small part of her was curious, but she was a little bitter too. For that reason, the next part was somewhat sarcastic. "Did he swear his allegiance to the Alliance and help you fly out of there?"

For several minutes, neither of them said anything. The rain that had been falling began to pick up as lightning flashed again, and Luke pushed his wet hair back out of his eyes. He had to wait a moment until the thunder died down before he could speak. "He died. I cremated what was left, but he's one with the Force now and what was left of his actual body was gone by then, I think. When I got back here, I saw his… image, or projection, or something. You know how Ben's body disappeared when Vader cut him down?"

Not immediately seeing the connection, it was a moment before Leia could answer. "Yes, I remember. Is that what happened with him?"

"I think so, but not right away like with Ben – I mean, Obi-wan. But since then, I've been able to communicate with him through the Force. Picture a hologram, but with more color and without the lines." Leia could picture this immediately, and they shared a smile at this comment before he went on. "I saw him, Master Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker – our father – in the treetops after I got back here. He looked like he was in his twenties, maybe, or thirties. And I think that can only happen when the person's soul is, I don't know what to call it, but when they're on the Light Side of the Force."

Disbelieving, Leia looked up at her brother's kind face. There was nothing there that said she shouldn't believe his every word, but Vader had tortured too many people close to her… including Han, and, well, her. She had to mull it over for a few minutes, but eventually she nodded. "You said that I had the same powers that you do."

"Yes, Leia. You can use the Force like I do – I can train you in the Jedi arts. The Force is strong in our family, and if you and Han have children someday it will be strong with them too." _Oh kriff. Did I really just say 'you and Han'? Please don't comment, please don't comment…_

Of course Leia noticed immediately and raised her eyebrows suspiciously. Luke had a fleeting thought that if he hadn't dwelled on it mentally maybe she wouldn't have noticed – that usually seemed to be how it worked. "Who said I have to have kids with Han?" she teased him, crossing her arms over her chest.

Blushing, Luke once again looked toward the fleet. Only the lights from a handful of ships were still visible through the rain. "I just meant – well you guys – you're close, and I figured –" A huge grin on his face, the Jedi looked down at his sister. For a fraction of a second her face was lit by lightning. "Aw come on, Leia, you know what I meant." He only hoped that she didn't actually have a clue as he brushed his wet hair out of his face… again. The next clap of thunder was well delayed.

"Okay, maybe I do," she conceded, leaning again on the rail. Below, she could see Admiral Ackbar and Mon Mothma talking to a tall, dark-haired man clad in a white shirt and black vest. Ackbar seemed to be telling a story, complete with hand gestures. Given that Lando Calrissian appeared moments later and seemed to join in on the story, Leia guessed they were telling the Corellian about destroying the Death Star.

"Leia," Luke repeated for the fourth time. His sister wasn't paying the least bit of attention to him, he knew. She wasn't going to walk off leave him alone up here either, though he could see she wanted to be down below. Eventually he touched her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise and turn towards him again. Before she could say anything he gestured down to the group several platforms below. "Go," he told her quietly. "But remember, if you ever need me, I'm here for you."

He reached out, put a hand on her forearm, and gave her a reassuring smile. The Princess returned the look and gave her brother a brief hug. "I'll come find you if I need you," she promised, turning to head back down to the party.

Below, Lando threw an arm around Han Solo's shoulders, shaking him slightly as he finished his story with the exclamation, "And that's how our ship defeated the Empire!"

Han turned his head slowly, his eyes wide. "_Our_ ship?" he asked, disbelief coloring his voice. Pushing Lando away from him, he slapped his chest as he continued, "_I_ won her fair and square! It's not my fault you're lousy at cards." Hands up in a confrontational, 'come at me bro' gesture, Han smirked at his old friend.

"Why you –" Lando started, taking a step forward. Before this mock fight could go any further, Leia stepped between the two, putting a hand on each man's chest.

"Now now, boys, you don't need to fight over me." She wasn't sure what made it her say it – the euphoria of victory, she supposed, or maybe euphoria from… other things.

Shocked, the two guys exchanged looks. Han reached down and took Leia's hand in his own, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin of the back of her hand. "Well hello there gorgeous." Flashing her his trademark lopsided grin, he pulled her against his body, wrapping her up in a tight hug. Giving Lando a smug look, he looked over his shoulder at Ackbar and Mon Mothma. "Excuse us."

The two Alliance leaders watched the pair walk away before sharing a look. Unnoticed, Lando took note and filed the occurrence away as something to mention to his fellow General later. In the meantime, he wandered off in the opposite direction the others had, with the intention of finding a Jedi to share his story with.

The Jedi's sister and the smuggler found their way down to the forest floor, where the rain wasn't quite as bad despite now falling harder. Han didn't let go of his Princess's hand as he led her into the dark, towards the rebel fleet and his beloved _Millennium Falcon_.

**Random Fact #1: Contrary to what you may believe from the wording, the look shared by Ackbar and Mon Mothma was an amused one. Lando also wanted to talk about Leia letting down her guard for once.  
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	2. What about Han and Leia?

**You will probably notice my writing style change through various chapters. Sorry about that. It depends on when I'm writing - what time of day, what else was going on, and of course, how much muse I had.  
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_**Unexpected Consequences**_

It wasn't until mid afternoon the next day that an Ewok stumbled upon Han Solo, asleep in a distant treetop, with his hands wrapped around a bottle of Corellian whiskey. Leia was nowhere to be found.

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><p>"What happened between Han and Leia?" was one version.<p>

"You hear about Solo and the Princess?" was another.

"That was some party last night – wait, Han and Leia? What about Han and Leia?" was heard only a few times – and asked by the ones who were totally wasted the night before. Wasted enough to wake up hanging upside-down by one ankle in one pilot's case, courtesy of Wes Janson.

It never ceased to amaze Luke how fast these things traveled through the ranks of the Rebel Alliance. Doctors, pilots, command staffers, maintenance guys, _everybody_ was asking Luke about his sister's fight with Han the night before. He was getting pretty fed up about it, too.

"I don't know any more than you do!" he hollered as another young Rogue Squadron pilot approached him. It wasn't often that Luke lashed out, even with words, but it wasn't their business and he wasn't going to pretend for a second that it was. Besides, he honestly didn't know anything more than that there had been a fight, and he'd heard _that_ from Wedge. He hadn't even _seen_ Leia, let alone Han, since the night before.

In fact, he once again had been trying to find his sister, but still didn't know where to look. He'd checked the most obvious places in the village, the least obvious places, and every place in between. Leia was nowhere to be found.

He had no way of knowing it, but she was standing in the middle of a clearing, roughly three fourths of the way back to the rebel fleet and off the beaten path. It looked very different now, but not because of the bright shafts of sunlight piercing through the canopy above. The place seemed eerie and dead today, despite her last visit being plagued by a thunderstorm. Then, she'd had everything. Now, she'd lost the most important part.

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><p>Later that morning, Luke and Leia sat alone in an otherwise empty hut, talking about where to go from there, both literally and figuratively. Leia, of course, had to go wherever the other Alliance leaders went, but Luke wanted to go back to Tatooine first – just to go home one last time.<p>

Leia needed to fix things with Han – that was one thing Luke insisted on, though he knew it wouldn't happen easily. And he didn't even know what they'd fought about. The both of them were much too stubborn to give in on really much of anything, a fact that could only hurt them here. He wasn't looking forward to playing doctor to their relationship, either, but feared it may be necessary.

In the meantime, he had to round up whatever Force-sensitive beings he could, his sister possibly included, and figure out how and where he was supposed to teach them. The only thing that wasn't in question was whether he would teach – he didn't really have a choice. The new government would need the Jedi. It certainly wasn't the future he'd envisioned for himself as a young boy on Tatooine.

If the siblings were certain of one thing, it was that they both had their work cut out for them in the coming future.

* * *

><p>"Does <em>anyone<em> know what _actually_ went down last night with Leia and Han?" Hobbie asked the assembled Rogues. They couldn't help the gossip; it didn't even seem like gossip anymore, after living in such close quarters for so long. Speaking of close quarters, there were four pilots crammed into the small, one man tent on the forest floor. With the same situation throughout the clearing, and tents pitched practically on top of each other, it was no wonder the news spread so fast.

"According to Luke," Wes said, pausing for dramatic effect. The way he said it, the other pilots thought he actually knew something. It being Wes, they should've known better, but they were desperate for information regarding their friends. "…_no_."

That earned him a slap on the back of the head from Tycho, not to mention glares. Wedge, who had known the other pilot was pulling their legs, grinned a little at the others' reactions. "No one knows for sure," he commented, "but there are plenty of rumors."

Hobbie jumped back into the conversation here. "I overheard someone saying that he found her out there this morning, crying. He seemed to think she spent all night out there, but she wouldn't say what. The last part I heard was that he thought Han proposed."

"That makes no sense," countered Tycho. "Why would she have been crying, if he proposed? I mean, not that Han would cry, but if he proposed and she said no, then theoretically it would be Han crying."

"It's none of your business, Celchu," came a voice from outside the tent. "Now send Wedge out."

The four pilots shared alarmed looks and Wedge shrugged, hands held wide, and backed out of the tent to talk to Han Solo. Wes, Hobbie, and Tycho crowded against the wall, but heard only a short bark of humorless laughter and heavy footfalls cracking twigs as they left the camp. "What the hell?"

"Maybe he'll tell Wedge."

"Yeah right, Leia didn't even tell her own brother," Hobbie pointed out. That was also news that had buzzed through the Rebel ranks pretty quickly, although no one was quite sure _how_ the twins found out they were twins. "Han isn't going to tell anyone what happened last night. Knowing the two of them, no one will ever find out."

Wes asked, "So back to those rumors, then?"

The others shrugged and Tycho said, "Well, someone was saying that Leia had a dirty little secret. According to this rumor, which I don't believe for a second – trust me, it's absurd – our Princess went off and did Calrissian at some point. Not sure when, exactly, this supposedly happened, but she told Han last night, for whatever reason. Probably, pretending for a second that this actually happened, she assumed he'd be too high on euphoria to care."

"Or just high," Hobbie threw in. Tycho nodded, conceding to his point, and continued.

"So anyway, she told him last night, and he got really pissed off about it and told her she wouldn't know a real man until she had him, which she never would, and he left."

Wes did have one small problem with this story. "That sounds a little bit like Han," he said, "especially if he _was_ drunk or high or something. So what is it that you think makes this story nerf? 'Cause compared to some of the other rumors flying around here, that one is pretty legit."

Tycho raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Really? Do I have to spell it out for you? Calrissian and the Princess? Yeah, right!"

"I heard that!" came a very different voice outside the tent. The three pilots inside exchanged astonished, 'you have to be kidding me' looks as a dark-skinned man stuck his head in the door. "That rumor may not be true, but that doesn't mean there is no 'Princess and Calrissian.' You should've seen us when we met. Sparks flew!"

Almost as suddenly as he appeared, Lando ducked back out of the tent. Wes poked his head out to make sure he was gone before turning to the others and saying, "Yeah, sparks from the _Millennium Falcon_."

From there, the conversation quickly morphed into guesses about Han's reaction when he found out the sensor dish had been knocked off. They'd all heard about Lando's promise to return the ship 'without a scratch,' and no one could be part of the Alliance without knowing about Han's fierce devotion to the old freighter.

It was several hours before Wedge came back to find the other Rogues still clustered in his tent. "Damn. Didn't know I was this popular," he joked, ducking into the tent and picking Hobbie's booted feet up off his pillow.

"Yeah right," Wes responded, "it's not _you_ that's popular, it's your info. C'mon, spill, what happened?"

"What are you talking about?" Wedge asked, toying with them. "What happened when?"

Hobbie groaned and Tycho hid a small smile. Wes just stared. "Oh! You mean with Han."

A few nods were his answer. "Well, after I left the tent, he laughed because he could see you all leaning against the side to hear us, then he led me to a clearing a ways away, where no one else was around. It was beautiful, really, especially when we made sweet, sweet –"

"I think I'm gonna puke," Wes interrupted, putting a hand over Wedge's mouth. Hobbie stared, vaguely disturbed, while Tycho once more tried to hide his smile. "So he didn't tell you about last night at all?"

When Wedge shook his head, the hand was removed and Wes quickly got up, saying, "Well then, gentlemen, I think it's time for us to let Wedge relive his fantasies… alone." Laughing, the other two followed him out of the tent.

The last thing Wedge heard was Hobbie's quiet comment, "The scary part is, that would explain why he was gone for so long."

* * *

><p>Han sat onboard the <em>Millennium Falcon<em>, trying to think of anything but the previous night. It wasn't just because of the fight he'd had with Leia, either – the one everyone and their grandmother seemed to know about. Gods, he couldn't leave the ship without being bombarded with questions. Strike that – it didn't matter if he left the ship. Even as he thought it, there were people staring at him through the cockpit's viewport. Sending them a few last glares, he ducked into the 'fresher before leaving to find Chewbacca.

There was a decent trek back through the forest to get back to the Ewok village. He was beginning to see at least a part of why the Empire chose to give their scout troopers speeder bikes. Even though rebels had been tromping back and forth constantly for the past day or so, the path was overgrow and Han was having a hard time not falling flat on his face. Still, although he could see why they needed the bikes, he did wonder why they picked such a _fast_ vehicle. As Luke and Leia had proved, they weren't much good in a fight on a planet covered in _trees_. Even Leia was pretty lucky to have survived.

_Well, no one ever accused the Empire of being_ smart_. There's a reason for that. I wonder if it's any easier to see out of a scout trooper helmet than a storm trooper one? I still don't know how Luke and I took out all those officers and cameras when we couldn't even see where we were going._

The rest of the walk to the village went more or less the same way. It was nice to be able to walk in on his own two legs, instead of being tied to a stick and put on a fire. Easier, too – less painful on the arms and legs, especially since he had been busy trying to hoist himself higher and not scrape up his back on the forest floor. He'd been pretty sore in the morning.

"Hey! Chewie!" the general called out, glimpsing his furry sidekick ducking into a hut. Halfway through the door, the Wookiee turned at the sound of his name and waved as he growled out a loud hello. The Ewoks around him backed up in surprise, not expecting to find a furry roadblock in their way.

Pushing his way through the miniature crowd, Chewie met Han halfway across the platform, howling a question. Han threw his hands up in disgust. "Not you, too!" For of course Chewie wanted to know all about the fight with Leia. Giving his own growl, the Corellian turned and stalked away, leaving the Wookiee to try to chase him down. Then again, if he didn't, Han was pretty sure he wouldn't mind having some time to himself.

Chewbacca watched his friend go, deciding that, for the time being, he would hang back. But Han would _not_ be leaving Endor without him.

**Random Fact #2a: I had to completely re-write this chapter. Originally I had actually written the fight in, but it just wasn't working for me.**

**#2b: Reviews are a writer's best friend.  
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	3. Apart Again

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

The next morning, after they had both had time to calm down, Leia swallowed her pride and did the one thing Luke had been adamant about – she went to make up with Han. The problem was that she couldn't find him. She asked everyone she saw and searched in every hut in every tree, but no matter how hard or long she looked, there was no Han. When she realized the Ewoks were distressed over the disappearance of their fruk, Leia had only one option – go to the _Falcon_. It was really only a formality; once she realized the Wookiee was missing, she knew what she would find.

The _Millennium Falcon_ wasn't parked in the sunny clearing Lando had landed it in after blowing up the Death Star. According to one of the men left to guard the Alliance fleet, Han had left several hours previously, right after the shifts changed. Chewbacca had of course been with him, but aside from getting clearance to leave on a "supply run," neither had said anything to anyone.

* * *

><p>"He's gone," Leia told her brother later that day. It had taken her a while to leave the clearing from the other night; for hours she had sat in that same spot, staring at the leaves and twigs that littered the forest floor. Forcing herself to leave had not been easy, and eventually the only thing that got her to move was thinking about the fact that Han wouldn't want her to mope. Not to mention Luke would be wondering where she was.<p>

Her Jedi brother didn't know what to tell her, so he just put his arms around her and held her close. The sound of his beating heart was reassuring and soothing, but the arms and chest were unfamiliar and not what Leia craved. Silently they wondered where Han had disappeared to, if he planned on coming back, and if either of them would ever even see him again. Neither could shake the feeling that he wasn't just making a supply run, and even when he tried to be optimistic, Luke couldn't lose the visions of his sister with another man.

* * *

><p>"Ah, lay off it Chewie. Luke was right – a princess and a guy like me, it could never, would never happen. Me and Leia ain't gonna work, so I left. But it's not like I ever have a problem findin' girls." Han's cocky swagger masked the pain he felt underneath, but Chewie had spent too much time with him to be fooled. After he growled another comment Han didn't like, the pilot grunted and left the cockpit without a word. No need to sit there and let his copilot take pot shots at him if the ship was on autopilot.<p>

It was true that Han could and probably would find someone with relative ease, especially now that he was a hero, but he wasn't sure he wanted to find a new _relationship_. After Bria he had promised himself he would never fall in love again. He had. Now that had ended badly too. Obviously, love was not the Han Solo way. One night stands and purely sexual relationships, well, that was different. _And it wouldn't last long even if you wanted it to._

The ship seemed empty now with just the two ex-smugglers. Apparently Han had gotten more used to having the Skywalker siblings around than he'd ever noticed, let alone liked to admit. He had good memories of both of them on this ship. Especially the sister. Lying back on his bunk, he flashed back to the trip to Bespin. _Kriffing Bespin._

"_You were right, Your Worship," Han said with his usual cocky grin. He slid a mug of caf across the game table to her and sat down, legs extended and crossed at the ankles. Raising his own mug to his lips, he settled back comfortably and sighed in contentment._

"_I never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth," she replied scathingly, grabbing the mug, "although we all know it's true. What am I right about this time?"_

_Her reply amused him. "First off, sharing a bed" – the Princess blushed and tried to interrupt, but he cut her off by placing his finger on her mouth – "must be making my personality rub off on you. That was a very Han Solo thing to say, Your Highness." She gave him her best 'shut the kriff up and get on with it' look but it only served to make the grin spread wider. "Secondly, you were right that I have my moments. You were wrong that there aren't many of them, but you were right that I have them."_

"_Am I supposed to guess what you did this time?" Her tone implied that she really didn't care as she sipped her caf delicately. Han laughed at the clear indication of the Princess's upbringing, taking a large, slurping gulp from his own mug before he went on._

"_You don't have to guess, Princess. I have no problem telling you that while the rest of you were sleeping, I destroyed two TIE fighters so they couldn't report back and tell the Empire where we are. I did it without ever alerting you, Chewie, or Goldenrod, and before the _Falcon_'s sensors had actually picked the ships up." Okay, maybe the last part wasn't exactly the truth. They _might_ have been silenced so no one else would notice. But he didn't need to mention that he'd put them in considerable danger by turning off the proximity alarms._

_Leia rolled her eyes. "Sure you did, flyboy," she told him, reading something off her datapad. She'd had it in her pocket since Hoth and was surprised it still worked, but glad. It gave her a good reason to ignore a certain Corellian Captain._

"_Aw come on Leia, you know you're impressed." It wasn't often that he actually called her Leia, and hearing her name in that husky voice…. The Princess couldn't deny that she liked it. When he slid closer to her, she didn't protest, and she even sunk against him a little bit when he draped his arm around her shoulders._

Han pushed the thought as far into the back of his mind as he possibly could, interlocking his fingers behind his head. Leia Organa was his past now. There was no reason to stay with or dwell on a woman who was ten years his junior, probably wouldn't be allowed to marry him because of her political position anyway, and would ultimately lead to heartbreak one way or the other. _Her heartbreak._ Might as well get that last part out of the way as soon as possible if it was guaranteed to happen anyway, right? _Of course, that adds _your_ heartbreak into the equation, Solo._

_No. Heartbreak and Solo don't belong in the same sentence, unless it's 'Solo _causes_ heartbreak.'_

Common sense kept telling him that once he cooled off a bit he would regret everything that happened on Endor the past few days – he already did – but he was trying to ignore that just like he was trying to ignore his memories. And neither one was working out for him.

* * *

><p>"Leia, come on. We have to go now." Luke had been trying to get Leia to move for the past ten minutes or so, but she was reluctant to leave the Ewok village and the planet where she had last seen Han. Sure, she was moving, but only slowly. At one point Luke decided to force the issue and picked his sister up in his arms. Surprisingly she didn't protest, for which Luke was very glad. It was a lot faster getting back to the fleet after that.<p>

Later, onboard _Home One_, Luke tried yet again to comm the _Millennium Falcon_. He wasn't sure he would be able to talk to Han, but if he could get in touch with Chewie, well, that would be a start. Maybe the Wookiee had already made Han see reason. He doubted it, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least try.

No good. Yet again there was no response, and Luke sighed heavily. The other Rogue Squadron pilots were being careful around him lately, and now they were quiet as he set the comlink down on the shelf next to his bunk. Looking around, he tried to smile. "Guys, I'm fine. Chill."

Wedge looked up at his fellow pilot from the lower bunk. He knew that Luke wasn't fine, whatever he insisted, but decided to play along and get to a topic just as important. "How's Leia holding up?"

This elicited another sigh from the Jedi. "My sister is in bad shape. I've known Han just as long as I've known her – well, actually I've known him longer than her – and he was smitten from the beginning. One of the first things he said to me about her was that either he was beginning to like her or was gonna kill her, but I could tell he liked her. And when I saw them together, well… I never thought that he would do that, that he would just up and leave like he did."

"No one expected it, Luke," Wes told him, sitting against the wall that made up the edge of Wedge's bunk. He didn't feel like climbing up to his bunk, the third one up, and the highest. "Everyone here could see what was going on between them, that's why we had those bets on when he'd propose."

"Yeah, even I thought they were gonna end up hitched, but I figured hey if it didn't happen for some bizarre reason I'd be a rich man," Tycho piped up. Now that he had all those credits from the other Rogues, though, he wasn't happy about it. He'd rather have paid them because at least his friends would have been happy. Now, instead, everyone was miserable because of what had happened – although exactly what that was, no one was really sure. Even Luke didn't know the whole story, since all Leia had been able to get out was something about the color green before she collapsed into untamable tears.

There was silence for a few minutes as everyone wondered about the situation. Why had Han gone through everything he'd gone through, from helping Luke blow up the Death Star to heading back into Echo Base to get Leia to blowing up the shield generator, and then just… leave? It was one argument, and it was a well known fact that he and Leia were very talented arguers. So what was it, exactly, about this particular fight that drove the ex-smuggler away, even after everything else that he had done? It just didn't make sense to any of them.

Eventually, Wedge slid out of the narrow bunk and stood up. Wedge wanted to have faith that his fellow Corellian would come back and fix things with Leia, but he knew it wasn't going to happen. The man was far too stubborn. Sighing, he looked around at the other five pilots he shared a room with and said, "Who wants to play sabacc?"

Wes looked up, thrilled at the chance to do something other than mope and wonder about their friend's motives. At the same time, he had _just_ climbed back up to his bunk. Sighing, he dropped back down to the floor. "Yeah, let's play. We have a lot of money to win back, gentlemen!"

That comment prompted a smirk from Tycho. "Yeah, right. Like you're gonna get it back!"

"He's right, Wes," Luke retorted. "You won't get it back, because I'll get it all instead." He jumped off his bunk as the guys grabbed cards and headed out of the bunk room, intending to find a more suitable location to play.

* * *

><p>Carlist Rieekan sat in his quarters on <em>Home One<em> when there was a knock on his door. On the other side stood Luke Skywalker, and he took a moment to reflect on how much the young farmer had changed to become the strong Jedi Knight he was now. "Commander Skywalker. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you knew where General Solo went. He did technically desert, but he's my friend and I'd like to be able to talk to him before he's charged with anything."

"I'm sorry, Skywalker," the General sighed. He liked Solo, and didn't like to be reminded that the man was a deserter now. "No one has any idea where he is. If we find him, he'll likely be taken into custody." Before Luke could protest, Rieekan held up a hand and finished, "But I'll give you a chance to talk to him first, if that happens. I can't guarantee he won't be charged, but you can talk to him."

The Jedi nodded, realizing that that was the best he was going to get. "Thank you, General."

**Random Fact #3: They were sharing a bed in that they slept in Han's bunk, just not at the same time… usually**.


	4. You Learn Something New Every Day

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

"This is where your mother grew up. I'll bet you didn't know that."

Luke turned around to see a partially see-through being standing on the beach behind him. Before the living man could say anything, the Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker looked around them and commented, "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets _everywhere_." There's a pause for a moment before he continues, "When I was young – still a Padawan – I used that line on your mother. For some reason, I thought it was romantic to contrast her and this planet with sand. I followed it up with something about how 'everything is soft and smooth' or some such nonsense. Is it sad that it worked?"

This confession brought a smile to Luke's face as he answered his father, "Probably. I don't think I would ever use a line about _sand_, and it's not like I've ever been much of a romantic."

Anakin laughed. "Well, you lived on Tatooine even longer than I did, you wouldn't want to think about sand no matter how much you hated it. Maybe it's a family thing." Seeing his son's confusion, he clarified, "Not being a romantic. And maybe hating sand, too."

Nodding, Luke conceded to his point with a chuckle. "Probably," he repeated. "Who _is_ my mother, by the way? Or… was, rather."

The look on the ghost's face made the young Jedi regret asking at all, but he got his answer. "Senator Padmé Amidala. She was a queen once, elected when she was fourteen years old. And I killed her." His voice was thick with guilt as he admitted it, but Luke didn't interrupt because he sensed that wasn't all Anakin had to say. "She followed me to Mustafar, and when I realized Obi-wan was with her, I figured that she had betrayed me. She hadn't known he was on board, but I didn't know that, and I choked her. She was still breathing, still alive, and after Obi-wan disabled me he brought her somewhere safe, where you were born. She died just minutes after, and you and Leia were separated. Bail Organa took Leia, of course, and Obi-wan personally took you to Tatooine, to live with my step-brother – the son of the man who freed and married my mother after I left the planet with Qui-Gon Jinn."

"How do you know? You weren't around for all of that, you didn't even know you had twins."

Anakin smirked. "I can talk to Obi-wan and Yoda, not to mention Qui-Gon Jinn, the man who realized my potential as a Jedi in the first place." As he spoke, Obi-wan appeared next to him.

Before he could say anything else, Luke heard soft footsteps coming up behind him. Turning, he saw his sister approaching.

The lake country of Naboo was doing wonders for the Princess. The trip had been something of a compromise. Leia wanted to go back to Coruscant with the other Alliance leaders. Luke wanted to go to Tatooine. Instead, they stopped on Naboo for a couple days of vacation before splitting up. The Alliance had provided several bodyguards – err, escorts – in the form of a few Rogue pilots, but they knew when to keep their distance from the siblings.

Leia was looking at something over his shoulder. Although she hadn't seen Anakin in the treetops at Endor, she clearly understood who it was. "You see him," he figured. It was a statement, not a question, and Leia nodded. Presumably she saw Obi-wan too, but clearly the glare was intended only for the man she still saw as Darth Vader.

"Leia," Anakin said sadly. He had a hard time looking at his daughter given the things he had done to her and her friends as a Sith lord. The look she was giving him didn't help much, either. "My daughter. I can't even begin –"

She cut him off in a very icy voice. "Then don't." Moving her gaze to her brother, she said, "It's almost time for dinner. Wedge is looking for you; he wants some help with some sort of exotic dish I've never heard of."

"I'll be there in one second, Leia," he assured her. "I have a conversation to finish, first. These guests can't exactly join us for dinner."

Despite her intentions, Leia couldn't help shooting Anakin another dirty look before turning and stalking back to the house they were staying in for the week.

"She'll never forgive me," Anakin said with a sigh. He understood, of course; hell, there's no way he would forgive himself either if he were her. He already didn't forgive himself. The deceased Jedi watched the stubborn Princess slam the door shut behind her.

Luke did a clumsy about face in the sand. "I'm trying to get her to understand, but right now isn't the best time. She just got out of a perfectly good relationship, and I don't even know why."

"Yes, I know. With Han Solo." Anakin dropped to sit cross-legged in the sand and Obi-wan smirked at the name of the smuggler he had known for a short time.

Shocked, Luke looked at his father in confusion. "You knew?" When Anakin nodded, he continued, "Do you know what happened? Leia wouldn't tell me anything."

Lips pursed, the Force ghost looked to the side for a moment before answering in a tight voice, "I don't. I tried to get Leia to talk to me about it, but she wouldn't." He cast another glance towards the door that had just closed. "It went about as well as that."

"Oh," was all Luke could think to say. He hadn't expected Anakin to know anything, but he would've liked it.

"Luke!" came the yell from behind the Jedi. He gave Anakin and the others an apologetic shrug and started to head inside, but the voice stopped him.

"You're older."

Spinning quickly, Luke's right foot was crossed in front of his left as he stared at the pale form of his father, who smirked at his son's confusion. However, it was Obi-wan that answered. "You and Leia are twins, yes. But you are older, if it matters."

" You two were born right around the time that I was being put into the suit that kept me alive for so long," Anakin added. "If you could call it 'alive.'" He looked down at his hands and legs, no longer cybernetic in appearance – even the right arm he lost when he was a Padawan. He used it now to make a shooing motion, and Luke gave the two Jedi one last look before jogging back inside to help Wedge with the unknown 'exotic' dish.

Although exotic has an interesting meaning, since it could be native to Naboo and be exotic to a moisture farmer from Tatooine.

* * *

><p>High in the upper levels of the city, the sun had just set on another beautiful Coruscanti day as Han Solo entered yet another bar. This particular establishment was a higher-class one than those he was usually seen in. Though admittedly today was a better day than usual, the past few months had been rough on the former Rebel Alliance General, especially since the paparazzi had been following him everywhere and his face was plastered all over the HoloNet. Attention was the last thing he wanted.<p>

He had managed to escape desertion charges after a somewhat awkward conversation with Luke Skywalker just two nights before – the government was a little occupied at the moment, and deserters they knew hadn't turn to the Empire weren't their top priority – and he was finally free to do what he wanted. Well, free from the newly established New Republic, anyway. The press was certainly not going to give him a break any time soon. Hopefully Corellia would be nicer to the native – when he got back to it. It would be a pleasant place to spend the remainder of his miserable life.

The press had been having a great time with his story. Gossip about his desertion, reappearance a month later, being detained by the New Republic on Coruscant, and finally being cleared just now was all over the HoloNet and the streets, but he never noticed any of it. Partially because half the time he was drunk.

Leia did, though. It made her feel outrageously guilty to see what had happened to the Corellian since Endor. It had been just under three months, and if anything the interest in the General was going up now that he had been cleared of desertion charges. Of course everyone thought she had something to do with it, even though she really hadn't. Her brother, well, she couldn't speak for him.

The New Republic almost immediately found her a then-future now-current senator and said without saying that they expected her to marry him. Several of the individual officers, such as Admiral Ackbar and General Rieekan, told her they personally were against it and were sorry about Han. It was nice to know some people still cared about her personal life and not just her political image.

Despite her original intentions, Leia realized that she didn't hate the guy. Kal Moaco was a nice man, polite and caring, and very handsome – just not Han Solo. So while she agreed whenever he asked her on a date, it never went past dinner. He was very understanding, and didn't once try to pressure her into anything, which only served to make her more confused about everything.

The pregnancy didn't help matters.

It didn't take her long to figure out she was pregnant, and it could only be one person's. She wasn't sure what to do about it, though; there was no way she was going to get rid of the kid, either by abortion or adoption. At the same time, she didn't want to jeopardize her future, personal or professional, because of a piece of Han Solo.

Kal was understanding about that too, when Leia eventually got the guts to admit it to him. He even offered to help raise the child – but only if Leia wanted him to, and even then only if and when she specifically requested it. Not because he was lazy, but because he didn't want to get in her way.

The two sat in companionable silence in a dark bar not far from the senate. Kal had noticed something Leia hadn't, and for that reason had sat facing that something.

It only took a second for Han to find Luke's blond hair at a booth in the corner. The Jedi sat with his back to the door, which was usual for him when the two got together – they both like to face the room and potential enemies, but with the Force on his side Luke was more comfortable facing a wall than Han was.

"Hey Jedi," the Corellian greeted, sliding comfortably into the seat across from him. Grinning back, Luke joked, "That's Master Jedi to you, General Solo."

Han smirked and shook his head. "Discharged. I'm not a general anymore, thanks to you. Speaking of, drinks are on me. What'd you want?"

Luke placed his order for a Corellian whiskey, and while Han went up to the bar the Jedi turned and met Kal's gaze. The two exchanged barely perceptible nods and looked back at their respective dates. Although if Han heard Luke call him his 'date,' he wouldn't be too happy with his friend.

Passing over the drink, Han sipped his own and sat down again, leaning forward on the table. "We're even now, kid," he told him. "I saved your sorry ass and the Princess's on the Death Star and I saved you on Hoth. You got me back from Jabba and got the New Republic not to charge me. Thanks."

Luke disagreed. "Not true. Well, most of it is true, but _you_ owe _me_ now, not the other way around."

Han raised his eyebrow skeptically. "Yeah, how's that, kid?"

His question seemed to amuse Luke and it was a moment before he got an answer. The Jedi leaned back, arms crossed against his chest. When he answered, it was simple and short. "My sister."

He didn't get the sort of response he wanted; Han abruptly stood up and left the bar without another word. Kal carefully distracted Leia so she wouldn't notice him, for which Luke shot him a thankful look before following the former General out of the door.

The Corellian had disappeared by the time Luke got outside, and when he tried to comm Han, there was no answer. Sighing, he knew he'd messed up big time by mentioning it, and headed back to the apartment he was temporarily sharing with his sister.

Back inside the bar, Leia smiled at Kal as she said, "I'd love your help. My child will need a father."

Returning her smile, the Nabooian took one of her hands gently in his and replied, "I'll gladly fill the role." Leaning forward, his lips met hers and they shared their first kiss in the dark bar, not five meters from where Han Solo sat once again.

**Random Fact #4: Han didn't leave the bar because of what Luke said; he left because he saw Leia and figured Luke had brought Leia and him there for a meet, and doubled back after because he was trying to get up the courage to go talk to her.**


	5. Asteroid Fields and Kessel Runs

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

It was just another not-so-beautiful day on Kamino. Han Solo sat on his recently repaired _Millennium Falcon_ on the out-of-the-way planet in the pouring rain, listening to the water slam into the ship's hull. He wasn't too psyched about the lightning, either, and was glad his slapped-together piece of junk had held for a couple days and he hadn't needed to repair – again – it in the storm. That would've sucked, and let's face it, right now saying his life sucked was a bit of an understatement.

No job, no copilot, no girlfriend – no, rephrase that – no Leia, no _meaning_. He didn't know what to do with himself, and he'd been moving from planet to planet every time a girl got too clingy. Was it really that hard to find someone who wanted sex with a so-called celebrity and would leave after? He'd been to fifteen systems in the past four months – that's a new system every eight days or so. Currently on Kamino, he was trying to get away from humans – male or female – for a while.

The problem, of course, was that on Kamino there was _nothing_ to do. His first day there, Han had gotten a tour of the cloning facilities because there was no better way to occupy his time. As a joke he suggested that they clone Leia for him, and they were actually willing to if he could provide them with some of her DNA. He had to immediately bring up every negative aspect of her personality to distract himself and explain – to himself – why he couldn't let them clone her.

Since that encounter, he had to stay on the ship to keep himself from bringing them her DNA. Where he would find it, well he didn't know really. But he would certainly try. Maybe he still had an old hair brush somewhere.

_Stop thinking about her, Han. There's a reason your name is _Solo_ and you can't forget that._

Still, he was forgetting it. It wasn't easy to convince himself that he had to leave, but he did manage. He hadn't spent as much time in self-imposed isolation as he would have liked, but it would have to do. Sighing, the Corellian strapped himself into the heavy crash webbing. The harness would hardly be necessary on a trip like this – just a jump to Corellia, meaning he'd be wandering the ship most of the time anyway – but it felt good to be strapped in to. Like being at home. He forced his hands to slow and savor the familiar feeling of the harness and heavy buckles clicking into place. There was no place in the galaxy he'd rather be, which was a little ironic since he could be there, well, anywhere.

Han had been avoiding his home planet because he didn't want to ruin the one place, aside from the _Falcon_, that he had ever considered any sort of home. He didn't want to run into yet another clingy female there, too. Not to mention he was a little afraid that Luke would try to contact him. How the Jedi would know he was there, he wasn't sure – but he had a feeling Luke would know.

Leaning back in his captain's chair, Han relished the feeling of the heavy harness as it settled against his shoulders, chest, stomach, and hips. It was a feeling he'd come to love almost as much as straining against it, rushing to find the right button or switch in the middle of a firefight.

For several minutes, he didn't move a muscle. But the moment ended much too soon, and he took off for his home planet.

No longer trying to avoid Chewbacca constantly – the Wookie was visiting his family on Kashyyyk for a few months – Han wasn't spending as much time in bars as he had been on Coruscant. Admittedly he went as often, but he tended to leave much sooner – usually with a girl. But in a bar or on the _Falcon_, he wasn't drinking as much either. Okay, so that had something to do with the fact that he'd dried up his stock of onboard alcohol a few days before leaving for Kamino and had yet to replenish it. But still, had to give him credit for something.

The New Republic had paid him well for his several years of service to the Alliance, but sitting in his cabin on the _Falcon_, Han decided he wasn't going to buy liquor with it. At least, not right now.

* * *

><p>Rain beat hard on windows and wind howled through the canyons created by the towering skyscrapers of Coruscant as sentients bustled about, trying to reach the shelter of their destinations as quickly as possible. There were some people, however, who were too preoccupied to notice the weather. It's no coincidence that most of these people were inside anyway.<p>

Senator Leia Organa held the newborn baby boy gently, love in her eyes as she looked at the bundle of blankets and the small face that peeked out from them. For the first time in her life, she truly understood why some people referred to babies as 'bundles of joy'.

Kal stood next to the hospital bed, a hand resting on her shoulder. "What will you name him?" Over the past few months he had made it abundantly clear that it was her choice and hers alone.

Luke and Chewie, standing on the other side of the bed, had been wondering the same thing. The three of them had given Leia all the support she needed and bought her everything the kids would need, but they hadn't actually talked about the babies if they could help it. They'd certainly not asked about their names.

Hesitating a moment, Leia looked first at Kal, then her brother, and finally the father's best friend, giving them each a genuine smile. "I'd like to name him Aster." _You're not actually going _in_ to an asteroid field?_

"Aster," Kal repeated thoughtfully. "I think I can raise an Aster." He bent to give Leia a quick and gentle kiss. "It's a wonderful name, dear, for an adorable boy with a beautiful mother." Though if he had it would've been in a complementary fashion, Kal knew better than to bring up the boy's father.

Luke looked down at the child in his arms – the older twin. "And the girl?"

Again the others got the impression that although she hesitated, Leia had known for a long time. Her gaze fell once more on Chewie, and she looked him in the eye as she spoke. If any of them would figure out this name, it would be the Wookiee. "Kes. Short for Kessel." _This so called hunk of junk can make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs, Your Majesty. I'd like to see one of your big fancy battleships do _that_._

The small girl blinked her eyes sleepily as she looked up at Luke's gentle face. "Think you can raise a Kessel, Kal?"

"I don't know, that one sounds like trouble," the senator teased, walking around the foot of the bed to look at the baby. Luke held her out to him, but he declined. As much as the others accepted him, he still felt out of place. He knew they wished Han were there, and he too wanted the children's birth father to see them. Their Uncle Luke was the next best thing. Besides, he would have plenty of time to hold and cherish 'his' children once they got the twins home.

"The Force is very strong with them. I'll have two new students in a few years," Luke commented. He didn't add it out loud, but flashing back to his first trip on the _Millennium Falcon_ had him wondering _What would Han think of having two Force-strong twins?_

His sister smiled sleepily as Chewie woofed something none of them caught. A couple minutes passed with small talk and general baby-admiring before a droid, at Luke's request, took the children to another room and the small group left Leia to rest.

Out in the waiting room, C-3PO was standing among several sentient beings of various races. In the corner, the news played at a muted volume. As soon as the droid saw them, he began chattering away. "Oh, how are the children? Twins! It does run in families. Dear me, they will be a handful. I'm not sure I'm up to the task."

Luke cut him off there, knowing the droid would ramble for hours if not stopped. The other beings in the room were staring, and Luke knew they'd be hearing about the birth of Leia's children on the news very soon. "Kal, are you sure you'll be able to handle two miniature Han Solos?" He asked this very quietly; no one knew the kids weren't Kal's.

The senator had never met the smuggler, but of course knew of him by reputation and his new friends' stories. Kal had a feeling he would like Aster and Kessel's father, despite the bad press he'd been getting recently. Luckily for everyone, it had died down in the past month or so.

"I think I'll manage. Especially with you guys to help me out." In response, Chewie woofed that he'd be glad to help raise Han's cubs, when he wasn't busy trying to keep their father alive.

Before Kal could do so much as thank Chewie, he regretted thinking about the press and Han Solo in the same thought. People were staring at them, and given that he had just caught the phrase 'former General of the New Republic', he had a strong feeling he knew why. The group glanced at the news in the corner.

"Han Solo is Solo no longer," the reporter said. The images flashed between short videos of Han with a thin blond and the reporter in the studio. The room was very quiet now, and it was easy to hear the man as he spoke about Han Solo's newest 'conquest'. The videos showed the couple in different outfits and surroundings, always smiling or laughing and usually holding hands. Sometimes they walked through a park, other times shops on Corellia, and occasionally sat in a restaurant.

Although none of them knew why the fight had affected Han badly enough to leave, they tried to be understanding that he had a history that even Chewie didn't know everything about. So even though Chewie wanted to pull Han's arms out of his sockets, and even though Luke wanted to cut off a certain appendage of Han's with his lightsaber, they were happy for their friend. Or at least, they were trying to be. The three looked at each other and all spoke at the same time.

"Let's not tell Leia."

Everyone was, of course, staring at the small group, and Kal asked, "Should we go back to Leia's room?"

"Don't let them get to you. You and Baye" – that was Han's girlfriend's name, apparently –

"will adjust to people staring at you, trust me." In truth, Luke wasn't really used to it yet either, but he was trying to reassure Kal, not scare him off. "Besides, Leia needs to sleep."

Nodding acceptance, Kal replied, "Actually, I am used to the attention. I'm a senator, remember? But I thought that maybe you would rather avoid them."

Luke grinned at his new friend. For someone who wasn't Force-sensitive, Kal was very good at reading people. It was one of the many reasons he made such a good senator. "I appreciate it, but Leia still needs the sleep. I'll survive."

Chewbacca roared in protest, although the others didn't know this until C-3PO offered up a translation. Though they understood some of the simpler things the Wookiee said, none of them could claim to be fluent in Shyriiwook. "This does not make much sense. He really must learn to be more direct." Ignoring the irony, the Jedi made a 'go on' gesture with his hand. Luckily, the droid complied. "Chewbacca says he has another way to avoid the stares here. He claims to have forgotten something back at the hotel he is staying at."

"Well come on then," Luke said, heading for the door. "Let's go back and get it."

* * *

><p>Three standard hours later they were once again in Leia Organa's hospital room. The Princess had woken up and asked for them twenty minutes ago, but they had only just returned from their errand. Now all eight of them – five humans, a Wookiee, and two droids – had made themselves comfortable. Sitting next to the bed with C-3PO translating, a sopping wet Chewie held up a small, well-worn item and explained its significance.<p>

"According to Chewbacca, Captain Solo had this as long as he could remember," Threepio interpreted. "He claims he never actually Captain Solo with it; it was in an unlocked drawer in his quarters on the _Falcon_. Chewbacca, you should not snoop around in other people's drawers!"

A warning growl from the Wookiee was the only thing that made him continue – after complaining about Chewie's language, of course. "He stumbled across it once by accident and asked him why a hotheaded pilot like him needed a stuffed bantha toy. Captain Solo 'brushed it off' and said it was old and unimportant. Chewbacca says he never believed him, and took it because he wanted Captain Solo's child to have a piece of him. Chewbacca also adds that if Captain Solo realizes the toy is missing, the worst he could do is ask about it.'" There was a pause, followed by one more laughing bark. "'Of course, I didn't know there would be two of them to fight over it,' he said. Now really, Chewbacca, you should not have stolen from their father! I'm sure they will be most disappointed in you when they find out!"

The Wookiee ignored Threepio and set the bantha on Kes's stomach. The girl, cradled in Leia's arms, was barely bigger than the toy. Perhaps if she were older she may have wrapped an arm around it. Instead, she wiggled until the toy fell harmlessly to the bed.

Smiling at the innocent children in their parents' arms, Luke produced a bag from under his chair. From it he took a small blue blanket with a swirling green pattern on it. "Luckily, we figured out you were carrying twins while Chewie was back home. Han always used this blanket when he stayed at Chewie's on Kashyyyk, and they tucked it away again until he needed it. Maybe it isn't as personal as Han's childhood toy, but it's still a piece of him. Malla tailored it to baby-size."

Taking Aster from Kal's arms, Luke gently exchanged the blanket he already had for Han's. Tucking it carefully around the small infant, he handed the boy back. Aster, asleep, curled up within his new blanket and pressed his face into his father's chest.

"Thank you," Leia said. Despite being turned towards the toy in Kes's arms, the others could see the far-away look in her eyes, and it wasn't hard to guess what she was actually looking at.

**Random Fact #5:** **As insinuated by the dialogue Leia is remembering as she names the kids, Aster is short for Asteroid – where Han and Leia had their first kiss. Kessel, of course, refers to the Kessel Run.**


	6. Corellia

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

"It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you of Senator Moaco's passing…"

"Han."

The former Rebel Alliance General didn't look up. Baye had no idea what he was reading, but she was fairly certain it wasn't important. Judging by the look in his eyes, he wasn't actually looking at or listening to anything in the room anyway. She sighed. It wasn't unusual for Han to space out for a bit, but lately he'd been doing it more often, for longer periods, and with less explanation as to what was on his mind.

Leaving him to his distant and unknown thoughts, Baye slid a cup of caf across the table to him and walked out of the room. She had been seriously rethinking their relationship for the past month or so. Han was even more closed off than usual – that was saying something – but she couldn't pinpoint any distinct causes or events that happened a month ago.

It was the click of the latch on the apartment door that made Han look up. He didn't bother calling out; the chrono and the door indicated that Baye had just left. He felt guilty for a moment; he had been out of it for at least twenty minutes.

The sound of the news caught his attention, and Han glanced over at the image on the counter. He just glimpsed the faces of two young children – wait a minute, he recognized them – before the camera moved up to who was presumably their mother. Han's breath caught in his throat as Senator Leia Organa-Moaco's face filled the screen.

Now he knew where he'd seen the children before, and wasn't sure how he'd ever forgotten – Aster and Kessel Moaco, the beautiful twins of Senators Leia and Kal Moaco. He had seen them once before, about a month ago, when their parents were on Corellia for… something. In the heart of the city, Han had been searching for parts to repair the newest problem on the _Falcon_, and had stumbled across Moaco giving a speech. Leia and the kids stood behind him and off to the side.

What had caught his attention even more than Leia was the young boy. Han was fairly certain the boy was Aster and Kessel was the girl. For some unknown reason, Leia had allowed him to grow his hair out pretty long, and the brown locks looked eerily similar a certain Corellian smuggler's. For that reason, the image of the boy and his sister had stuck in his mind.

Now the child's hair had been cut back from his brown eyes, and a happy smile played across his face. Neither he nor his sister looked upset about his father's passing; they were too young to know what it meant, to understand that they would never see their father again, never climb on his shoulders or bother him while he tried to watch a holovid with Leia.

There was something strange about the children, but Han couldn't pinpoint it exactly. Shaking it off, he turned off the news feed. Looking at Leia and her two beautiful children made him regret his hasty decision to leave her and his stubborn one not to return. Well, it was too late anyway – that was years ago, and now would be the perfect time to show up – while Leia was grieving for her dead husband. Yeah, right.

Solo stood up, stretching. He had a long day ahead of him, fixing the _Falcon_. He hadn't actually used the parts he'd bought last month, so he'd been grounded for a while. Now it was time to get to work.

* * *

><p>Luke sat in a separate room from his sister, trying to keep the kids entertained. Admittedly, he was also trying to distract himself from all the tears and negative emotions in the next room over. He didn't want to face that he'd lost yet another friend, a few of which were Biggs in an explosion on the first Death Star run, Han running off after a fight with his sister, and now Kal to a brain aneurism.<p>

Aster tugged an old toy out of Kes's small hands and triumphantly paraded around the room on his chubby little legs, holding the bantha above his head. "Hey now, Aster, give that back," the Jedi told his nephew. "That belonged to your daddy."

"Daddy!" Kessel exclaimed. When she had too much energy, the girl would repeat the last thing she heard, which got on the adult's nerves from time to time. Other times, it was adorable. This was one of the adorable times.

Scooping up the older twin, Luke growled playfully at Aster and followed him around the room. Trying to pick up speed, the two-year-old tripped and fell on the plush carpeting of his nursery, giggling as he wrestled with the toy.

Just as Luke was about to snatch Kessel's toy back – she was beginning to clutch at his clothing and whine – the door into the living room of the apartment opened, and Leia walked in. Luckily she was good at controlling her emotions on the outside, because Luke could feel her confusion, fear, and grief. He only knew the origins of one of those emotions; it was the other two that worried him.

As she gave her brother a tight, forced smile, Leia picked up her little boy and gently pried the bantha out of his grip. She handed it to Luke and said, "You would not _believe_ how much this whole thing is making me hate politicians – and I am one."

"Oh, I believe you. Politicians are very good at pretending to care. But let's face it; about half the people here hated Kal." He regretted saying it the instant it left his lips, but this time Leia's smile seemed genuine and she nodded agreement.

"Kal!" Kes called out.

"That, dear brother, is how politics work." She shifted Aster to her other hip and continued, "I'm tempted to take these two and head somewhere else for a while. Is that okay with you?"

"You!" Now it was getting annoying.

Luke thought about it for a few moments. "Any particular place you were thinking of? I'd like to come with you." He set Kessel down in the crib and put the bantha in her hands. "I wouldn't mind getting away from this for a while. It's up to you, of course, I mean it's your vacation."

"Va… vac… vack-ah-shun." Kessel struggled with that word, unable to get it just right.

"I was thinking…" Leia paused, uncertain and unwilling to admit her location of choice. "Well, when I was on Corellia…"

Now Luke understood where this was going. Leia didn't want to admit that she wanted to go to Han's home planet, where he was currently living. Whether the guilt was because of the assumptions she thought people would make or because those assumptions were true was something he didn't know. Maybe that's where the confusion came from – she herself didn't know the real reason she wanted to go.

"We'll go to Corellia, then," he told her, giving her a hug. Aster pushed against Luke's chest, saying, "No!"

"No!" Kessel repeated.

* * *

><p>Hanging upside-down by his legs from a pipe while trying to fix a leak was never an easy task. Not the biggest problem was that the blood was rushing to his head and making him more than a little dizzy, although admittedly he'd been having that problem upright lately. Once satisfied that the bolt was tight, he carefully grabbed at very specific pipes – the ones he had marked with red tape because he knew they could support his weight. He carefully hauled himself upright, pausing for a moment as his vision blacked and the blood rushed out of his head. <em>Damn this ship<em>. He loved it to death, but as he tossed the hydrospanner aside he wondered why.

As his vision cleared, Han jumped in shock, almost falling off the pipes he was precariously perched on. "Uh… who are you?" he asked the tall, slim human woman standing only about two meters away… on his ship, which had been locked up. _I think… no, I distinctly remember locking everything before I came in here._

"Hello Han," the woman said in a seductive voice. Han merely raised an eyebrow in response, using his arms to lift himself up until he found better footing. Then he clambered out onto solid floor and dropped his hand casually to his blaster.

"Who are you?" he repeated, a bit more forcefully.

"Just a friend," she said in the same tone as before. Her actions disagreed with her words as she matched his motion, but her hand found a small silver tube, not a blaster.

That weapon told Han at least part of what he needed to know. "You're one of Skywalker's," he said, moving his hand away. She mirrored him again. "He sent you, didn't he?" Even as he said it, the Corellian realized that wasn't true – Luke wouldn't send someone to see him, he would come himself. He might have trained her, but he certainly hadn't dispatched her to Corellia, at least not for the purpose of finding Han.

The maybe-Jedi let out a breathy laugh, stepping closer to the smuggler. Han was about to back up when he realized he was already against the wall. Moving to the left wasn't an option; he'd fall back in among the pipes. If he tried to go right, she'd cut him off long before he could get away. "No, _Master_ Skywalker didn't send me." The word 'master' was laced with sarcasm. "I came on my own whim."

She moved still closer, and Han's fingers itched for his weapon. He had a fast draw – at least he did at one time – so maybe he could fire off a shot or two before she could get that saber up. Then again, maybe she would decapitate him first. That would end the fight real quick. Too bad Chewie was on Kashyyyk again.

Han mentally took a deep breath. "Well, Jedi, what's your name and where should I meet you tomorrow?" he purred. "My girlfriend is on her way over." He figured it was his best shot – try to convince her he would meet up with her later if only she would leave now. Usually worked pretty well, but in this case no such luck. It wasn't necessarily because the Jedi was any smarter than the girls he usually used it on. It was because Baye walked on board right as the woman pressed her lips against Han's. Apparently, she really had been on her way over.

Eyes wide in shock, Han put his hands on her stomach and pushed her off of him as Baye took them both by surprise, saying, "Well I guess this is what's been bothering you." The pilot winced as he realized what had just happened, and held his hands up in a defensive yet placating gesture.

"Baye, I don't want to say 'this isn't what it looks like' because it's the classic way of saying 'this _is_ what it looks like'. But I swear, I don't even know who she is!"

The other woman flashed a smirk at the new arrival and said, "Oh, he knows me," she said, putting her arms around Han's neck and rubbing her leg against his. "We've been dating for two months."

"What are you _doing_?" he shouted, shoving her off of him. He stared at her in disgust before turning back to Baye, trying to convey with a look that he was telling the truth. Tears leaked from the girl's eyes and she left without a word before he could say anything more to defend himself. There was a metallic _clink_ as she went, and Han didn't have to look at it to see that she had left behind the necklace he'd bought only three days before.

It was probably better that this relationship end the way it had, too, because he'd slipped up. He'd done exactly what he'd told himself he wouldn't do.

_What was that planet Luke told me about? Dagobah. Yoda went there in exile, no reason I couldn't do the same,_ he thought, only half joking.

The Jedi flashed him a smirk, bending to pick up the necklace. "Oooh, this is _pretty_, Han," she told him. When she turned back, the necklace clasped around her neck, she found a blaster pointed at her forehead. This time it was her eyes that widened in shock – there was no way she could get her lightsaber out fast enough to defend herself.

"I'll be going now," she said, slipping back into her most seductive voice. "But don't worry, I'll be back."

She too dropped the jewelry on her way out.

**Random Fact #6: At one point while I was writing, the necklace was a ring and Han was engaged to Baye.**


	7. That Was Normal

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

Pinpoints of light turned to long streaks as Luke sent the _Rebel Dream_ into hyperspace. The New Republic had insisted they use the ship for Leia's protection, although the small family of four did not want to drag the entire ship and her crew to Corellia with them. They also didn't want to bring the guard the New Republic was forcing on them to the planet itself, but apparently they had no say in the matter. Instead of four of them, this trip would now have ten… plus the over thirty-five thousand crew members who lived onboard.

Leia was nowhere to be found, of course. They were on a Star Destroyer, so if she wasn't in her suite then Luke didn't have a clue where to look for either her or the kids. It didn't matter; if she wanted to talk she'd find him. Knowing that, he headed to his room.

There was plenty of time to meditate, so Luke sat in the middle of his room and let the Force flow through him, blocking out all the noises of the _Rebel Dream_ to concentrate on the near future.

Images flooded his mind, all of them the last thing he expected to see. For some reason, the first thing he saw was Han's face, frozen in carbonite with his hands up in what Luke assumed was an attempt to fight off the freezing process. That morphed into Han on the skiff flying over the sandy desert of Tatooine, looking out to the horizon. Though he didn't hear the words now, Luke remembered them: "I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big light blur." Lastly, Han looking haggard as he stared down someone on his ship.

Why was he seeing Han? And more importantly, the next image was one of the Force-sensitive future Jedi Luke had found and started to train back on Coruscant. Sola, that was her name. He watched as she did a few back flips and ended by cutting a training dummy in half. He remembered the day because she had turned to him and said, "You think being a Jedi is hard. I haven't broken a sweat during my entire training." Then he'd brought her to Dagobah and had her enter the cave where he had fought the vision of Darth Vader with himself under the mask. That changed her gung-ho attitude pretty quickly.

Now he was looking at the _Falcon_ again, but into Sola's face. How had they met?

Why the heck was he seeing these two? Not to mention he was trying to focus on the future and instead, most of what he was seeing was the past. Sometimes, the Force raised more questions than answers. Obviously, this was one of those times.

Before he could figure out the strange juxtaposition, there was a knock on his door. Apparently he didn't have as much time as he'd thought. Most likely that was Leia, looking for help with her little beast children. They were adorable, but sometimes they could be a bit more than a handful.

Sure enough, Leia stood outside the door with a twin on each hip. Kessel's face was smeared with blue paint, which matched the paint on her brother's hands. _His_ face had red paint – which Kessel had on her hands. The two colors were smeared all over Leia's white dress, pale face and dark hair.

"Oh… my…" Luke trailed off, pushing his sleeves up and taking Kessel carefully. He held her up and spun her in a circle, as if he were holding her away from his body for the fun of it, not to avoid getting his new shirt covered in paint. The little girl giggled and screeched, "My!" as Luke asked, "What made you think giving these two paint was a good idea?"

"I have no idea," Leia admitted. "Can I wash them in here? The crew is cleaning my bedroom from the last mess they made. I promise I'll clean the room, too, once these guys are in bed."

While Kessel repeated the word 'Bed!', Luke led Leia into the bathroom and ran the water in the bath. They plunked the two kids into the water, threatening not to give them sweets if they splashed, and before long the bathroom contained four dripping, but clean, human beings. Luke's new shirt didn't have paint, at least, but it was soaked through. Leia wasn't much better. The kids hadn't splashed – much – but they had tried to stay underwater and avoid their mom and uncle, which had forced the older set of twins to drag them back up again, getting drenched in the process.

After dressing the kids in fresh clothes – Luke always thought ahead and had at least one extra set in his room for them – he helped Leia get them back to her suite and bed them down in their respective cribs. Aster and Kessel were pretty good escape artists, but these cribs had very high walls that, luckily, neither twin could yet climb out of. Leia planned on keeping them as long as possible – she didn't want to find a sticky two-year-old sitting on the kitchen floor with food scraps surrounding him or her at three in the morning.

Luke was still trying to figure out how to talk to Leia about Han without hurting her. There wasn't any way to do it, really, but he needed to know why he had seen Han and Sola earlier and maybe Leia and her desire for a trip to Corellia could answer that for him.

Turned out he didn't need to worry about it. "They make me wonder what Han was like when he was young," Leia admitted, sitting on a couch in the small living room. "Knowing how he is now, he must have been a nightmare."

The Jedi couldn't hold back a laugh. "Han Solo, a nightmare? No! Never."

Leia gave him a small smile and looked away at a painting on the wall. It was, for reasons unknown to Luke, her favorite painting, one of Kashyyyk. He figured it was because of Han's love for the planet, and both his and Leia's friendship with Chewbacca. In fact, the Wookiee was on his home planet for a short vacation right now, having left shortly before the twins. Maybe that's why she glanced at the picture now.

"I… well, I've been regretting letting you teach me about the Force, Luke." It wasn't a secret that she was reluctant to learn the Jedi arts. She didn't carry her lightsaber _anywhere_, only taking it out to practice. She would have left it at her apartment on Coruscant if Luke hadn't grabbed it at the last minute.

He sat and waited for her to continue, but when she didn't, he was forced to prompt her with a simple, "Why?"

It was still a few moments before she explained, "I can feel Han through the Force. Even though he's far away, I can feel him, I've been able to for a while now, but… something is wrong. It gets weaker every day, but not weaker like he's getting farther away physically. I can feel that he's still on Corellia – not that he's there all day every day, but it's his base, at least. But his Force signature is getting weaker, and I don't know why."

Luke knew that couldn't be easy for her to talk about. If nothing else, it meant admitting that she was still thinking about Han and concentrating on him quite often. That alone was enough for her to shy away from bringing it up.

What concerned him more, though, was that he had been noticing the same thing, which meant it wasn't just a product of Leia's inexperience and unwillingness to learn. And Luke didn't want to admit that he thought he might know the reason behind this strange occurrence.

"The Force works in mysterious ways, Leia. I'll see what I can figure out. You just worry about the monkeys." The two shared a grimace, remembering the nuisances of Yavin 4. It was a pretty good comparison.

Luke excused himself shortly after, intending to delve into the mysteries of his earlier visions and the dying Force-signature over a nice hot meal.

* * *

><p>Almost the instant the <em>Rebel Dream<em> came out of hyperspace, Luke was approached by C-3PO, holding out Luke's comlink as he shuffled across the living room of the small suite. "Former General Solo is trying to get in touch with you, Master Luke."

Confusion clouded his mind. "Thanks, Threepio," he said, taking the comlink. Why the heck was Han trying to talk to him?

"Luke, it's Han. Listen," the smuggler said, not giving Luke a chance to greet him, "Do you have any Jedi apprentices in the area? Corellia, I mean. 'Cause there was a lady around here earlier this week with a lightsaber and she… well, I dunno. I asked if you sent her but she said no, and she called you Master Skywalker but said it like it was a curse and _what the kriff is happening to my life_?"

"Woah, Han, are you okay?" Luke asked, genuinely concerned. That small outburst didn't sound like the Han he remembered.

"No, kid, I'm not. Now answer me."

"I didn't send anyone to Corellia, but I think it might have been Sola. Human, a little taller than me, skinny?"

"Yeah, sounds right, kid. Although taller than you don't mean much."

"How about this?" Luke started, ignoring the dig at his height. "I just came out of hyperspace over Corellia anyway, so I'll stop by wherever you're living now and we'll go out for a drink, catch up, and you can tell me what happened. We'll try to figure out what she wants then. I promise if you'll just meet with me later I'll help you in every way I can."

"Alright. Coronet City. Card's Tapcaf, two days at twenty-one hundred hours."

Glancing at his chrono, set to local time, he said, "That sounds great, Han. I'll see you then."

Han didn't respond and the line went dead as Luke wondered what the hell had just happened. The Han who had left Endor without warning, who deserted the New Republic, wouldn't be so willing to see Luke after all that had happened, would he? Wouldn't he now blame Luke for everything, for getting him into this whole mess in the first place?

_He's changed. Quite a bit, too, it seems. He even sounds a little bit different – less cocky, _maybe_ even a little better grammar._ Luke suddenly realized he wasn't hungry, and lay back on his bed as he tried to think things through.

The tapcaf was crowded, not an unusual occurrence in the city. Still, it didn't take long for Luke to find the haggard face of Han Solo, sitting in the back corner with what Luke assumed was a Corellian spiced ale – one of the smuggler's favorite drinks. After getting his own drink from the bar, Luke slid into the seat opposite the smuggler and offered his hand.

Han took it, though for just a moment, and locked eyes with the Jedi for only a fraction of a second. "I was working on the _Falcon_ and when I climbed back up out of the ship's guts she was standing there." It took Luke a moment to realize Han was wasting no time in telling him what had happened with Sola. He hadn't even said hello, or a single word of the easy teasing he was so well remembered for.

He told the story quickly, including all the details that mattered in this exact instance but not one more. When he was done, Luke leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, regarding his friend thoughtfully.

"So basically I have a rogue Jedi and you have a runaway bride." Han scowled at him, standing up quickly.

"I'm leaving," he snarled, turning towards the door.

"Wait, Han!" Luke grabbed his friend's wrist and spun him around. "I'm sorry for the bride crack. I didn't mean anything by it, it just sounded better than girlfriend." _What am I _saying_?_ "I guess that's why you sounded different on the phone, right? Is it the reason you haven't gotten much sleep, too?"

That comment clearly startled Han. His eyes snapped to Luke's face and widened ever so slightly as he realized that the younger man knew something was wrong. His tone of voice implied that it wasn't actually what they had been talking about, however, and he was correct.

"Not here, not now. Tomorrow, midday, the _Falcon_. Have Artoo look up where she's docked for you." With that, the smuggler disappeared into the crowd.

Looking after his old friend, Luke commented under his breath, "Yeah, _that_ was normal."

**Random Fact #7: Han was going to be married with a daughter, Carbon. Carbon refers to the carbon freeze chamber where Leia said 'I love you' for the first time. (Psh, creative names, right?) She was never actually written into the story, I decided against her too soon. That's also why I never renamed her, because I didn't want her.**

* * *

><p><strong>So I'm probably going to my lake house for the weekend, which means no internet and no updates. If I get some reviews so I know what you people think about this story, I might give you two or three updates when I get back to catch up with where I would be.<br>**


	8. Back Again

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

He didn't know why he told Luke to meet him again the next day. The last thing he wanted was to talk to the Jedi. Or anyone, for that matter, but _especially_ not someone from what he typically thought of as his 'old life'. So for that reason, he found himself on a beautiful beach miles from the planet's capitol city at noon the next day. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for ditching Luke, but he had left a note. That was something, right?

The beach was empty that day – the planet's winter months were just ending, and anyone other than Han Solo wanted nothing to do with the water. But Han was different. He liked the calm and relaxing sounds of the waves hitting the shore, and he liked to sit in the weak spring sun and just… sit.

So now he found himself shirtless and lying on his back, shirt under his head to keep the sand out of his hair. He wore sunglasses, but as his eyes were closed and the sun periodically disappeared behind thick clouds, they weren't exactly necessary. Waves lapped against the shore not a meter from the soles of his boots, adding a pleasant soundtrack to the calm day. In an attempt to get some much-needed sleep, Han tried to concentrate on the sound, but found himself unable. His mind wandered from the waves to the sand to the wind to the way his sunglasses felt on the bridge of his nose, until eventually he had to sit up and pull his knees up, his arms loosely around them as he looked out over the sparkling ocean water.

For hours Han wandered the beach, time slipping away without his noticing. He had no idea that Luke knew exactly where he was, no idea that the Jedi would come to find him later that day. No idea that Luke wasn't the only one.

Almost two miles from where he started, Han lay back with his shirt as a pillow as the sun set behind him. With his eyes closed and sunglasses on, he was unaware when a shadow fell over him. The individual stood silently over the prone human, decided how to make her presence known. Eventually she settled on a tactic, and sat down next to the Corellian, touching the back of his hand lightly.

Han jumped and instinctively moved away from the small figure. How had he not heard the person's approach?

The question was forgotten when he saw who it was. Confusion took over completely and Han stood up, backing a few steps away. Looking up at him were the soft brown eyes of Leia Organa.

He wanted to ask her what she was doing there. He wanted to ask her how she knew where to find him. He wanted to ask her why she had _bothered_ to find him. He wanted to ask her a thousand things, but couldn't. Instead, he choked out a single word in a hoarse voice. "Leia."

She stood slowly, realizing that she had startled him. What she didn't know was if he was merely surprised or if he was also angry – that was the emotion that worried her. An angry Han Solo wasn't what she wanted right now, not by a long shot. "Han." She didn't know what else to say, so she figured she'd let him talk.

The question he asked was exactly what she thought it would be as he was finally able to choke it out. "What are you doing here?"

Han put a hand to his head as the world spun. Getting up quickly had been a bad idea. Hastily pulling off his sunglasses in an attempt to hide the dizziness from Leia, he took half a step backward to steady himself. Hopefully she'd attribute it to his surprise.

"Luke and I wanted to go on vacation. He talked to you yesterday, and said that you had ditched him today. So I decided to come find you."

"Stay away from me," Han spit out, turning and stalking down the beach. Leia stared at his retreating back for a moment. Sighing, she grabbed his shirt, shaking the sand from it before following the angry smuggler.

"Han. Han!"

He didn't turn around, but he did snap, "Keep the shirt. Next time you want to see me, you can smell the shirt instead, pretend I'm there."

"Han," Leia repeated again, "what the hell is wrong with you?"

Before she could so much as blink, Han had spun around and was very much in her face. "You wanna know what the kriff is wrong with me, Your Highnessness? You wanna know?" He almost told her then, but at the last second, "Then you should have asked back on Endor!"

He took her shock as a chance to leave, darting into the woods as she tried to figure out what the hell had just happened.

* * *

><p>"I take it you didn't tell him, then?"<p>

Leia shook her head. "He has no idea. I'm not sure if he even knows they exist. We didn't really talk, he just asked why I was there, to stay away, to keep his shirt, and then that he… well, that something was wrong, I guess. I don't know, Luke." Since the encounter with Han earlier that evening, Leia hadn't been able to figure out what was 'wrong' with Han. Luke hadn't been able to, either, but apparently it was something other than the encounters with Sola.

Luke had sensed the other Jedi's presence as they approached the system, and she hadn't been near enough Han for concern since their arrival. He didn't expect it to stay that way.

"I'm sure he knows. You were just here what, a month ago? You had the kids with you. I'm sure he saw all that – it's nearly impossible not to notice when Leia Organa of all people comes to visit your planet."

That prompted a small smile. It certainly wasn't a very private life she led these days. Luckily the kids were too young to care one way or the other, and by the time they were old enough to she hoped things would be less… insane.

"Regardless, I didn't tell him." She cast an adoring gaze over her two children, asleep in their cribs. In a small way, they were in the same position that she had been in – they had a father that didn't know they were his, and their adoptive father was dead. But they still had a mom, and a loving uncle, and a galaxy that wasn't ruled by a tyrannical Emperor. They would grow up as Jedi and would never know Kal, wouldn't be left with the emotional scars their mother had. Someday she'd tell them all about their fathers, biological and adoptive, and how both men were heroes in their own way.

Luke laid a hand on his sister's arm. "I'd like you to tell him. And I think he would like to know, too."

"No, you didn't see him today. He wouldn't – stop looking at me like that, Luke – he wouldn't want to know. He didn't want me around, and he wouldn't want them around either."

Kessel rolled over in her sleep, her arms wrapped tight around the neck of her toy bantha. Aster's blanket was balled up in his arms, and he hugged that instead.

"I'll take one of them with me. Or both. I won't tell him they're his children. I'll tell him I'm babysitting. I'll see how he reacts to them. And if he's okay with them, I'll tell him."

His wording didn't give Leia any options, but she knew they were there. She thought about it for a few minutes first. She didn't want to let Han into the twin's lives, have them get used to having him around and enjoy his company, and then have him decide he was better off leaving instead, and going back to smuggling.

But she wanted them to know their father.

"Okay."

* * *

><p>"Han? It's Luke."<p>

"Hey kid, what'd you want?" Han propped his right leg up on the holochess table. He had been paying the rent on the apartment he shared with Baye, but had decided to let her take it. There hadn't been a discussion; in fact, they hadn't said a word since the incident with Sola the other day. But it didn't matter. After all, he wouldn't need a place for very long, and the _Falcon_ would do just fine in the meantime. Plus, it was fully functional again.

"Can I come by and talk to you?" Luke's voice, small and metallic, emanated from the comlink resting on the table and filled the hold of the old and empty freighter. "I just want to catch up, see how you've been. We haven't talked since… well, since you left Coruscant two years ago."

Han was a little taken aback. He'd forgotten what it was like to have friends who cared about you. He'd had Baye, of course, but that was about it. Certainly no one like Luke. "Yeah, sure. Whenever you want, I'll be here."

He disconnected and stood, pressing his palm against the wall to steady himself as the world spun. Dizziness was his biggest problem these days – that and sleep deprivation. It was getting worse, much worse, and trying to power through wasn't helping. This wasn't one of those things where being in good shape helped.

When footsteps echoed through the ship to him, he assumed they belonged to Luke, and hollered, "In here!" from the turret that held the upper quad laser canon. A hydrospanner clenched between his teeth, he was trying to free a bolt with his fingers because the tool didn't fit under the panel the bolt was hiding behind.

"Well hello there, Captain Solo," came a female voice from down the ladder. Han dropped the hydrospanner in surprise and it slipped through his fingers when he reached out for it. Confused at how he'd missed it, he winced when it clattered loudly into the bottom turret.

Sparing a quick glance down, the pilot saw the last person he wanted to see – the female Jedi from the other day. Although he supposed he owed her one for breaking it off with Baye. Hard as it was to believe, it saved the girl some heartbreak in the end. Well, sort of.

"Hello, Jedi," he responded, saying the title like a curse. He slid down the ladder quickly. "What're you doing here?"

"Just dropping in," she shot back, moving closer to him with a flirty smile plastered on her face. She liked to corner him; with the access ladder directly behind him and the walls sticking out slightly on the sides, he couldn't go anywhere.

The last time this had happened, Baye had had very _in_convenient timing. Now, Han was praying that Luke would take his 'whenever you want' as 'right now' and show up at a very _con_venient time.

But of course, the woman was pressed up against him again and Han couldn't get her off and Luke wasn't showing up. There was a hand twisted in his hair and a leg hitched up on his hip and lips on his neck.

"What the _kriff_ is wrong with you?" he asked, pushing at her. When that failed, he took a desperate act and stepped backwards, into the access ladder. Quickly hooking his arm on a rung, the Jedi was taken by surprise and slipped, falling down into the bottom turret. From the crashing sound, that was going to need some repairs. Leaping back onto solid ground and drawing his blaster, Han spun to the ladder, leveling the weapon at where the woman would appear.

For some reason, she didn't use the Force to jump back up, although Han knew that Jedi could do that. Maybe she wasn't experienced enough. That would be good; maybe he'd have a chance against her.

Instead, she poked her head up slowly, one hand up while the other clung to the ladder. "You're good, Solo."

"I know," was his cocky reply, as he backed up a little bit to let her get off the ladder. "Now if you don't get out of here, I'm going to shoot you without regrets. And that is a promise."

At first the look she gave him implied that she wasn't going anywhere, but half a second later her head jerked toward the ramp and the smile dropped from her face, her eyes widening. Without another word, she darted off the ship, and Han thought he knew why.

"Goodbye, Sola!"

Following her more slowly, the pilot was leaning against the wall at the top of the ramp when Luke showed up. "She was here – again…" Han trailed off, noticing the young girl on Luke's hip. "Where's the other one?"

"My nephew is with his mom. I'm surprised you knew there were two of them." That was nerf, he had expected at much.

"Why do you have her?"

"Babysitting. Twins are a lot, and Leia's been having a rough time since Kal's passing." The shock on Han's face took Luke by surprise as well. "Kal Moaco, her husband. He died of a brain aneurism a few weeks back."

"I – I'm sorry. I didn't know." He dropped his eyes to the floor for a second before looking at the girl again. "So her dad is dead, then?"

_This is the perfect opportunity, Luke. Tell him. If you say yes, you're lying, but if you say no you'll have to admit it's him. You don't want to lie to him. The perfect chance, just tell him._

"Growing up without a dad can't be easy, huh? At least Leia and I had stand-ins in an adoptive father and an uncle. Although I suppose the twins will have an uncle, too."

"The point, kid?"

"The point is that you didn't have a father growing up, and these kids don't know theirs. Leia and I, we don't want that. This is Kessel. She's your daughter."

**Random Fact #8: There was a point where Kessel didn't exist and it was just Aster, because of Carbon.**

**Change of plans - my mom has an 80th birthday to attend today, so we ended up not going to the lake. I'll be able to update daily - but I'd still like reviews! (And I promise that wasn't just me trying to get more reviews - I really do go to the lake most weekends.)  
><strong>


	9. En Route to Tatooine

**Unexpected Consequences**

"What?"

"Your daughter. And Aster is your son. Kal was their step-father." Kes's head slumped against Luke's shoulder and she let out a tired little yawn as her dad shook his head in amused disbelief.

"Nice try, Luke," Han said after a few moments of stunned silence. "But I'm not falling for it. They're cute, I'll give Leia that, but they ain't mine." Even as he said it, Han took Kessel from her uncle's arms and held her up, spinning her in a tight circle in the small corridor. She squealed happily, giggling.

Luke looked on in amazement. Despite supposedly not believing their relationship, he was had a pretty big grin on his face as he played with the girl. Over the three hours or so, he only got more confused. Han denied it more and more vehemently every time Luke brought the subject up, yet he refused to let go of the child. "She has Leia's eyes. Is she really going to let her hair grow out until it's as long as Leia's? It looks like it hasn't been cut since she was born." Not that Kessel was old enough for it to be very long in the first place, but Luke was glad to know that Han could still tease.

"Born," Kessel said sleepily. When she had started repeating words, Han had found it adorable and laughed, saying all sorts of things just to hear her repeat them. He kept his language plenty clean, but enjoyed saying words that Kes had problems with, such as 'Tatooine' and 'Millennium'.

"I don't think it has been," Luke said, also joking.

"Been," Kessel reiterated, yawning. Han scooped her up off the floor and brought her to his cabin, where he laid her on the bunk and tucked her in. Luke stood watching in the doorway. Yes, Han would make a very good father, if only he'd admit that the kids were his.

The smuggler dug around in his drawers. "Looking for something?" came a voice from behind him.

"Yeah…" Han replied, rooting around under the bunk as a small voice said tiredly, "Something." He continued without looking up, "I used to have a toy here, a stuffed bantha. But I can't… find… him…."

The Jedi in the doorway suddenly became nervous. "Um… well, Chewbacca told us… about that toy, actually."

Han turned on his friend, confusion etched on his face. "So let me guess; Chewie believed you when you said that the kids were mine, and he took the bantha and gave it to them. Right?" He said the whole thing with exceptional sarcasm. Clearly he didn't believe a word of it, so when Luke merely nodded he was more than surprised.

"Seriously?"

"It's Kessel's toy. I left it back home, which wasn't easy to do. Normally she doesn't let the thing out of her sight." Luke sat on the edge of the bed, brushing Kes's hair out of her eyes. The young girl shifted restlessly, reaching out in her sleep as if to grab the very toy the adults were talking about.

Han was flabbergasted. He never would have thought Chewie would take any of his things without permission. But maybe that had changed when Han had thrown him off the ship and out of his life. He hadn't wanted to tell Chewie what was wrong with him and still didn't. He had refused to let the Wookiee stick around, so that was probably when he'd taken the toy.

Of course, Chewie hadn't _actually_ left.

"What about the other kid… what's his name?"

"Aster."

"Aster. What's his toy? Your old X-wing or something?"

Luke snorted. "An old blanket of yours. But when he's old enough, yeah, I'll give him a ship. This thing won't last long enough for the kids to ever fly it, that's for sure."

"Don't diss the _Falcon_," Han exploded, standing over Luke in an overly aggressive stance. The Jedi's eyes widened and he stood, backing away hastily with his hands up defensively. There was definitely something more going on than Han had admitted. Of course, none of their conversations had gotten very deep. They talked plenty about what had happened, but not how any of it had affected him emotionally. Obviously, Luke should have pushed the issue more.

"Woah, sorry Han. It was just a joke. Just a joke."

Before Luke knew what had happened, Han collapsed.

* * *

><p>When Han woke up again, there was something different. The room was pitch black, and, remembering his most recent company, he called out in a hoarse, tired voice, "Luke?"<p>

"He's with the kids," a softer voice answered. Female. A cool cloth was laid on his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," he replied roughly, lifting a hand to push the cloth away. Before he could, though, another hand, smaller and softer skinned than his, grabbed his wrist and pulled it away. He didn't protest.

When the hand was removed, he reached out to his companion. There was nothing there, and he tried to find her. Her hand took his again and there was worry and confusion in her voice as she said, "Han… can you see?"

Han blinked several times, trying to look around the cabin. He sat up slowly, eyebrows drawing together. "The lights are on, aren't they?"

At first, Leia nodded her head. Then, remembering what she had just discovered, she responded, "Yes, they are. Han, what happened to you? Luke said you were acting weird. Mood swings, easily distracted, seemed tired; you had to pause every time you stood up, like you were dizzy. Now you've fainted and you can't see. What's wrong?"

"I can't see, that's what's wrong, Princess."

Well, that was a little bit more like Han. Before she could respond, he continued, "I've been busy, haven't been able to sleep well, and now I'm sick. Live with it; I am." _Not for long, but for now._

The room was silent except for the engines of the _Millennium Falcon_ and the air rushing through the heating systems. Han instinctively pulled his hand back and curled up under his thick comforter. The cool towel slid off his face, only to be quickly replaced. It was also now that he noticed his blaster was still strapped to his thigh, and now he was lying on it. He was too tired to take it off, though.

It did cross his mind that the ship shouldn't be moving, that they had been safely docked on Corellia when he had fainted. But it didn't completely register.

"Where's Luke?"

"He's in the hold with the kids. Aster wants to meet you."

"He's, what, two? What does he know?" the smuggler mumbled, rolling over onto his other side, facing away from Leia to get off his blaster. "If Luke is in the hold, who the hell is flying this thing?" He still hadn't really registered that they weren't _supposed_ to be moving, just that they were and that they hadn't been before.

"Hyperspace. En route to Tatooine."

Now Han was sitting with his head cocked as he tried to look in her general direction. Things were starting to register now. "Okay, I'll bite. Why the heck are we headed to Tatooine? I've been blind there before, and I'd really rather not do it again. In case you forgot, I almost spent a thousand years getting digested. And I missed seeing you in a sexy metal bikini." He gave her a wink and his usual one-sided smirk, prompting a growl. Listening carefully, he heard her get up and leave the room, slamming the door behind her.

After a few minutes, she did actually come back, much to Han's surprise. "There, now you can miss it again," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest. Of course she wasn't actually wearing the metal bikini – she was still fully clothed – but that didn't mean she couldn't play with Han's mind for a while.

And naturally, in his state, he didn't notice the improbability of it all. Even if she had bothered to keep the bikini, why would she have brought it with her when she came to the _Falcon_? Why would she have had it on her trip to Corellia? Sure, she might have gone to the beach, but it wasn't exactly typical beach attire. Especially not for Leia Organa.

None of this crossed his mind. Instead, trying to forget about the fact that she was apparently wearing the bikini again, and he still couldn't see it, he said, "Leia, tell me a story."

"A story?"

"Yeah, a story. Isn't that what you do when… the kid can't fall asleep? Tell… her a story?" He slid back down until his head was resting on his pillow. He heard Leia sit down again, slowly.

For a few minutes there was the familiar silence of spaceflight, which is never silent. One thing Han didn't hear were the sounds of the other passengers on this flight. Apparently the kid was behaving pretty well right now.

"What do you want a story about?"

Han had to think about that for a few minutes. Originally he'd just said it to hear her voice, not because there was anything in particular he wanted to hear about. Now that he had time to think about it, he was glad she had asked. "Tell me a story about how you grew up."

She took a few minutes to collect her thoughts, then started, "I grew up in the palace on Alderaan. When I was twelve, my father – Bail Organa – and my aunts decided we should spend a day at the beach…."

"You aren't going to tuck me in, Your Worshipness?"

Leia gave an aggravated sigh and pulled the blankets up to Han's chin, wrapping him up tightly before continuing her story.

* * *

><p>"Leia? If I wasn't before, I'm seriously concerned now. Han fainted a minute ago after flipping out at me for making a joke about the <em>Falcon<em>."

"I'll be right over." She cut the connection before her brother could so much as react, and within ten minutes Leia was on the ship.

"How the heck did you get here so fast?" he asked, taking Aster from her and leading the way to Han's cabin. After Han had fainted, Luke had almost immediately given him a tranquilizer. His friend needed sleep, one way or the other. This way was better than him never sleeping at all, right? So when he moved Kessel to the med bunk in a different room, he had to pick up Han – not an easy task – and get him under the blankets. That's where he was now. With a blaster still strapped to his leg. Luke had decided that was too awkward to take off, even if Han was unconscious.

"I was shopping," Leia responded, holding up the shopping bags full of clothes and dinner. "What was that?"

There had been a noise behind them, back towards the cockpit. Like someone had tripped and caught him or herself against the wall of the ship.

Luke held a finger up to his lips, giving Aster back to his mom. "Get him to the med bunk – that's where Kessel is – and keep talking to him, like nothing is different." Taking his lightsaber out, he slunk back up the corridor towards the cockpit. Leia slid past him in the opposite direction, making goo goo noises at Aster. He giggled, trying to pull at and undo her hair.

Luke held his lightsaber in his right hand, ready to use it should he run across what – or rather, who – he was expecting to see.

The cockpit door was open, an unusual occurrence. Han always kept the ship locked up tight. He didn't take chances with his _Falcon_. It was, in all but blood, his child.

The Force helped Luke keep silent – his footsteps, his breathing, even the rustle of his clothing. So it was that he stood in the doorway unnoticed for almost a minute before Sola happened to turn around from where she was examining the console, apparently scanning the switches and buttons.

"What're you looking for, Sola?"

The woman raised an eyebrow and threw him her usual flirty grin. "Master Skywalker. How nice to see you," she greeted him, pulling her lightsaber out and igniting the purple blade. Luke's hands remained folded behind his back, the saber hilt in his right. "Just doing a little… research."

With that, she swung overhand at Luke. Without the Force he never would have gotten his saber up in time, and the purple and green blades clashed with a sound only such weapons could make. "I underestimated you," she hissed. "Perhaps this will have to wait." Clearly she'd been hoping to have the advantage of surprise on her former master.

A wise choice to wait; the cockpit allowed for little to no maneuverability, and sparks would be flying as parts were hacked off the walls. Sola was well aware that there were two young children on board, and she didn't want them involved, either. This had nothing to do with them, and she wouldn't hurt innocent two-year-olds. Not directly, anyway.

She disengaged and turned her saber off, replacing it on her belt. Luke let her pass, holding the saber between them in a very relaxed stance. In other situations he wouldn't have let her go, but now he didn't have much choice. He too was thinking of the children.

"I think I may go visit your home, learn about where you came from. Maybe it'll give me an advantage later on," she tossed over her shoulder as she carefully descended the ship's ramp. Luke locked up after her and headed to the cockpit to start the ship up.

Leia heard the clash of sabers and felt the ship come to life under her own feet, as she sat next to Han's bed. She had closed the door, however, after the sabers had come out, and didn't hear the parting remarks. Rather than wondering what was going on, she turned back to Han and wiped the cold sweat off his face.

**Random Fact #9: I toyed with the idea of having it be many years later, so that the kids were young teens, but decided against it for many reasons.**


	10. The Kid Wasn't Kidding

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

There was a big difference between this time and the last time Han had woken up. That difference was called 'vision,' and it was a truly miraculous thing. Sitting up slowly, he was able to stave off the dizziness and stand, albeit on unsteady legs. Leia sat in the chair next to the bed, her head slumped down on her chest. He thought about moving her to the bed, until he remembered how light a sleeper she could be. Didn't want her to wake up and flip out as he tried to pick her up, especially while he wasn't entirely stable. He _really_ didn't want to drop her on the floor.

Before he got to the door, though, Han looked back at Leia in shock. Her hair had always been exceptionally long, but hidden by the fact that she constantly had it tied up in some strange hairdo. Now, not only was it loose, it also fell only just past her shoulders. Hadn't it still been long on the beach?

He stared for a moment before remembering that he wanted to find her brother.

In the cockpit, Luke looked up as the door slid open and Han limped in. "What'd you do to your leg?"

"Stiff." That was all the answer he would give, no matter how many times Luke asked that day.

He motioned for Luke to stand up from the pilot's chair. Obediently, the younger man moved over to the co-pilot's seat instead. Han lowered himself gingerly into the chair with his right leg fully extended. Lacing his fingers behind his head, he leaned back and sighed, scrutinizing his new pilot. "Tatooine? Of all places in this godforsaken galaxy, _Tatooine_?"

"I grew up there," Luke said defensively. "You went to Corellia, I'm going to Tatooine." Han's raised eyebrow told him he wasn't getting off that easy. "Okay, fine. Sola, the Force-sensitive who has been bothering you? Well, first off, she's turned. I wouldn't call her a Sith, she isn't powerful enough, but I guess maybe a... a Dark Jedi, meaning she serves the other side, the Dark Side." Han grunted impatiently, waving at Luke to get on with it already. "At any rate, she was in the cockpit after you collapsed. She said she wanted to visit Tatooine, so I figured we'd follow her and take care of this problem now. It _is_ better than running from her later, right?"

Han snorted. "Sure."

"Of course," Luke continued, "knowing the _Falcon_ as I do" – Han shot him a warning look – "we could easily get there ahead of her. That's what I'm planning for, anyway."

"We make plans now?" Han asked, shooting his friend a grin before turning to stare at the blue 'tunnel' of hyperspace. It was a comforting sight to someone who was always traveling this way. As smuggler and a rebel, then still as he traveled from planet to planet to avoid life, and again as a smuggler after settling on Corellia, he had never gone more than a few weeks without traveling – unless you counted being stuck in carbonite, which he didn't. He also tried not to think about that particular chunk of time, and for good reason.

He didn't know about Luke, but Han found the ensuing silence a little awkward. They had only just met again after two years, and had little to talk about. Luke wasn't one to brag about all the things that had happened to him, and Han had nothing left to brag _about_. It had been a while since he had had anyone other than Baye to talk to, and she hadn't been very talkative anyway. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't really sure why things had seemed so right between them. She was a great girl, but…. At the time, he had thought he loved her. If he had, maybe he was too numb now to remember.

Or maybe it had something to do with the woman who had fallen asleep watching over him last night.

Nah, couldn't be that.

"So, you got a girl?" Hey, Luke knew what had been going on in _his_ life, might as well make the Jedi spill too.

The embarrassed half grin and blush gave Han the answer he was looking for, and he slapped Luke on the shoulder. "Hey, you fell for someone other than your own sister," he teased.

"Shut up," Luke muttered, the blush deepening to a beautiful scarlet. Seeing Han's look, he knew he wasn't going to get away without more details. "Her name is Mary. It's been a little over a year."

"Ooh," Han said, "so my little boy isn't a virgin anymore?"

He didn't know the right color to describe the shade of Luke's cheeks anymore, and as the younger man dropped his gaze, the smuggler doubled over in laughter. "You're kidding me. _Still?_"

"Maybe he's afraid to get his girl knocked up," came a voice from the doorway. The boys looked up in surprise to see Leia leaning against the doorway, arms folded over her chest. Han found himself staring at her a little longer than perhaps could be considered polite. It took a stern look from the senator to make him realize this, of course, and he smirked at her before responding, without breaking eye contact, "Just gotta be careful. Think about how often people have sex. Realistically, it just doesn't happen often."

Straightening up, Leia shrugged. "I disagree. It happened my first time."

Luke, embarrassed that this conversation was happening _with his sister_, squeezed past her and went off to find the kids. Han looked at her with a disbelieving grin, leaning back casually. "One problem with that statement, Your Worship. Either you lied to me then or you're lyin' to me now, because you claimed that your first time was with me." Waiting a heartbeat, he added cockily, "And I'll bet nothin's compared since."

"It was, flyboy."

There were a few moments of silence and then a soft, "Oh."

Hearing it from Leia made it much more believable than hearing it from Luke, for some reason. He had noticed, of course, that the kids looked like him in some ways. The boy had his hair, at least when it was long, and the girl... well, he didn't really know exactly what it was, but there was something familiar about her. He had seen that before Luke had shown up. Yet when the Jedi had told him the twins were his, he honestly hadn't believed him. Now, he believed it. Just because Leia had said it.

"And there hasn't been a since."

_That_ statement just made him laugh. "Uh huh, and I'm the Emperor." The last thing he said as he stood up was, "You just don't want to admit that he was no good in bed." Then Han brushed past her and gave her a sly grin, resembling his 'we don't have time' look from way back, before disappearing deeper into the ship.

Like that day in the asteroid, she was speechless as the door slid shut behind him.

* * *

><p>Later, Luke and Leia sat at the game table eating dinner while the pilot lay on the floor with his children. Well, <em>under<em> his children was more like it. Kessel was busy sitting on his chest and wrapping his long hair around her sticky fingers while Aster, perched on his stomach, toyed with his belt. He was amazing both Skywalkers with his patience – it was certainly not something they'd ever seen him exhibit before.

To keep things interesting, he would continually poke the children in the sides, legs, and arms at random intervals. They never saw it coming, and several times toppled off of him in laughter. It was a simple attack, but effective and, apparently, entertaining. Han himself would sometimes laugh when a child fell, but only after he made sure they were okay. That added a new twist to the game, making it harder for the second twin to stay on as his body heaved.

"Who knew? Han Solo, the amazing hero of the rebellion who helped take out both Death Stars, is great with kids." Luke flashed Leia a smile, glad Han had believed her. Of course, he'd had the same observation about Han's parenting skills earlier with Kes, but Leia hadn't been around at the time.

"Who knew…?" Leia repeated thoughtfully as the little monsters attacked their father. She and Kal had played with them plenty, but nothing quite like what Han was doing had ever happened. Apparently, though, it was what the kids wanted and it certainly seemed to tire them out much faster than anything else ever had. It wasn't long before Han was able to knock them both off at once, and within moments of Aster hitting the floor, the pilot was standing with one twin tucked under each arm like a piece of luggage. They squirmed and struggled to free themselves as Han laughed, playfully twitching his arm like he was going to drop them. Eliciting shrieks of fear, they didn't notice he was actually _tightening_ his grip when he jerked, and would grab at and pull on his shirt, pants, or belt and cling to him before realizing they weren't actually falling.

Flashing one last look at Luke and Leia – mostly Leia – Han disappeared into the forward hold, which was relatively clear and had been made into a makeshift bedroom for the monsters. What little had posed a safety threat to the twins had been moved to the third hold in the back of the ship, where Luke and Leia's beds were set up. Luckily there was space for once, since Han had been grounded for a while, and actually gotten around to cleaning out the _Falcon_. Of course, Baye had helped since she realized he wasn't going to do it alone, or without proper motivation.

Leia looked at her brother and cocked her head to the side. "You know, I'm not really surprised. For some reason, I always pictured Han as a good father. I'm not sure why. I guess it's because of all that stuff about growing up without parents, I just figured he'd do everything he could to make his own children happy."

The Jedi agreed with a nod. "It's more than that, though. He's a natural with kids, or he's had a ton of practice with them. Most likely both, actually."

This brought a strange look to Leia's face, one Luke couldn't quite figure out until she asked, "Do you think he had any kids with Baye?"

"No," he assured her, "he would have told me." _I think._ "I meant that when he was growing up, he probably had to work with the younger kids a lot. And he knows what he wishes a father might have done with him, so he does that. And it seems to work pretty well." As Leia contemplated that with an absent nod, Luke scrounged up the courage to ask, "What if he wants to stick around, be with the kids every day?"

Leia looked at him like he was crazy. "Let's assume for a moment that he has a death wish and does want to stay," she said, slurping up the dregs of her soup in a very un-Princess-like manner. "I'd let him. They're his kids, too, and I want them to have a father growing up. Even if they spend half their lives with you, training to become Jedi Masters."

They lapsed into silence at that, broken only once by Luke's comment, "I could hardly keep my own sister's kids from their parents. They'd visit."

When, twenty minutes later, Han had yet to return to the main hold, Leia followed him to the kid's quarters. His head ducked, he didn't look up when she entered, and neither did Aster, who was quickly falling asleep in his father's arms. Kessel, tucked into her makeshift bed, cradled the stuffed bantha against her chest as she slept. It had been in the landspeeder when Leia left with Aster, who was swaddled in Han's old blanket. The room was quiet but for the ship's engines and another sound it took Leia a moment to identify – Han was humming a lullaby.

He still hadn't looked away from Aster's face as the boy blinked sleepily up at him. The tune wasn't one Leia recognized, even as she crossed the small space to sit next to him, which made her wonder if it was from Corellia, and how he had learned it. Following Han's lead, she looked down at Aster and smiled. Though he and Kessel had immediately taken to their father, the familiar face clearly calmed him, and it was only a few seconds more before his eyes stayed closed and Han was free to stop rocking him.

Not for the first time, as Leia watched him tuck Aster in, she wished Han had been around to help with the kids. Now that she knew how he was with them, she wished it more than ever before. Kal had been more than helpful, of course, but she could see that he was a little awkward about it – raising another man's child for a woman he loved who didn't love him back in quite the same way. The kids had loved him, of course, but he wasn't the kind of guy Han was – not the kind who would think to lie on the ground and let them climb on him. He would have if he'd thought of it – he just would never have thought of it.

Pushing Kal out of her mind, she focused on Han again as she realized he had spoken.

"Thank you."

He still wasn't looking at her, just crouching next to Aster's bed. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "For everything. Letting me meet them. Telling me they're mine. Letting me spend time with them. Helping me put him to sleep. And everything in between; like, you know, forgiving me."

When he did finally turn and look at her, Leia could see why he had been avoiding her gaze. In the light coming in from the main hold, she could see something glittering on his left cheek. He had turned over the other shoulder, presumably hoping she wouldn't notice the shine. Of course, that just put the tear more directly in the light, backfiring on him.

"Han," she said softly, moving to kneel on his left side. He turned to the other side to track her progress across the floor. "Thank _you_ for getting these monsters off my hands for a while." She gave him a small smile, trying to get one in return. It was no good, though. "You can spend all the time in the galaxy with them, Han. They're as much yours as mine, and let's face it, they'd probably rather be brought up by the smuggler than the politician."

"Except that they'll be brought up by the Jedi, won't they?" was Han's bitter response. "The Force runs in your family, these two are probably brimming with power."

She laid a hand on his arm, trying to get him to look at her. When that failed, she moved her hand to his cheek instead, turning his face towards hers. "Luke promised he wouldn't push me one way or the other. We can decide if they become Jedi or not."

"They'll probably be resentful of you later when they find out they could have been Jedi. Most kids dream of being a hero." He didn't protest her touch, although he didn't really react to it, either. And though he now faced her, his gaze never stayed on Leia's face.

His use of the word 'you' was not missed by Leia's sharp ears, either. Not much got past her. "They'll resent _me_? What about you?" she asked, confused. "Do you or do you not want to help raise them?"

Another tear leaked out of Han's eye, and Leia wiped it away. Since she took her restraining hand off his face to do so, he took this opportunity to look away again. After a moment he slowly got up out of his crouch, stepped carefully over Aster, and left the room.

Leia let out a sigh and gave him a minute before following. Impossible man.

**Random Fact #10: Leia had gone to the hair salon before going shopping (remember that she was shopping when Luke called). I have _no_ idea why, I just felt like changing her hair for some reason.  
><strong>


	11. You're What?

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

The main hold was empty. Leia went to the cockpit first – even in hyperspace, when he couldn't fly the ship, that's usually where Han went when he wanted to think – but only Luke was there, and he said Han hadn't been by. There were obviously several places Han could have gone, and though after the cockpit the one that made the most sense was his bunkroom, the quad laser canons' access ladder was between her and there. Maybe he had decided to do some maintenance on the guns. It certainly wouldn't surprise her.

She went up to the top gun. She had learned long ago that just because no one appeared to be in the turret didn't mean it was actually empty, such as if Han were doing maintenance. In this case, however, it was. Leia slid down the ladder, straight into the bottom turret, but Han wasn't there either. Not that she had expected him to be, but it was better to check and find he wasn't than to not check at all and later find that he was.

Next, the Princess made her way to his bunkroom.

The door was closed, as usual. Knocking yielded no response, so she tried again. And again. Once more. Deciding to search one of Han's other haunts, she turned to head for the rear cargo hold, thinking that maybe he had gone to "tidy up", aka think with a bottle of expensive brandy in his hand.

She had barely taken a step when the door behind her opened to reveal Han. He had changed already – maybe that's why he hadn't answered – into a plain white tee shirt and dark blue pajama pants that, compared to what he had on moments before, could be called baggy.

He motioned her inside but didn't say a word as he turned away and sat on his bed, leaning against the bulkhead. Leia closed the door, debating internally about sitting in the chair she'd slept in earlier, which would have her facing Han. Ultimately she decided instead to slide onto the bed next to him. She took it as a good sign that he didn't protest, although he really didn't react at all, like when she had touched him earlier. Experimentally, she moved until their sides were touching. Yes, an experiment. That's all it was. _Yeah, right. Even Aster and Kessel aren't thick enough to fall for that one, Organa._

Still no reaction. Han hadn't moved an inch.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Han said "I do" in a voice thick with emotion.

"What?" Leia asked, surprised and confused. "You do… what?"

"I do want to help raise the kids. I was answering the question you asked me back in their room." This time, his voice stayed remarkably steady, though Leia could see his eyes were still red-rimmed and his nose looked like he'd been out on Hoth without a face covering.

"Then what's wrong?" There was a hint of impatience and desperation in her voice, despite her effort to hide it. When the man finally looked at her, she could tell from the look in Han's eyes that he heard it, too. "I _want_ you to help; I _want_ you to stay around. If you want to work out some dual custody arrangement, I'll do that instead. The kids love you already, Han, and if you leave, they'll grow up without a father too. Is that what you want?"

Being as close as they were and looking up into Han's enchantingly beautiful eyes, Leia's mouth slipped open, leaving her lips slightly parted. For a moment she thought, as Han moved a fraction of an inch closer, that he was going to kiss her. She found herself wishing he would, but instead he whispered forcefully, "It isn't the kids I want to love me. But it doesn't matter anyway, because I can't help raise them in any way, shape, or form. After Luke takes care of Sola, you guys go back to Coruscant, and I never see any of you, ever again."

_The closeness was for effect_, Leia told herself. And it was, evidently, because he backed off again as soon as he was done speaking, looking away to stare instead at his pillow.

When Leia spoke again, she was the one choking on emotion. The one thing she was that Han wasn't? Confused. "Why? Why _can't_ you? You just said you wanted to, and I'm telling you to. I don't understand why you can't. Is there another crime lord after you?" She meant it as a joke, but it didn't come out that way at all, and she found herself wondering if maybe that was exactly the problem after all.

Han stood up and immediately dropped unsteadily to his knees. For a moment Leia became concerned about him collapsing yet again, until she saw that he was opening a concealed drawer under the bunk. When he stood again, he held a small holocube in his hand. The image was one Leia recognized and knew very well.

"Give this to them someday. They'll want to be able to _see_ their father when they're older. You know, when banthas and blankets won't be enough to satisfy them, when they aren't two years old, when they can actually remember and understand what's going on around them."

He leaned casually against the far wall and tossed the cube to Leia, who took it in both hands and looked closely at it. Not that she needed to. Back at Echo Base, one of the rebels had decided to get a record of everything that was happening on base. Technically those files were, at the time, confidential, but several holocubes had found their way around the base, and this was one of them. Obviously once Han had gotten his hands on it, he hadn't been willing to give it up. What she didn't know was whether it was because he liked the image or because he was embarrassed by it.

It was the one time at Echo Base the two hadn't been at each other's throats. Han was supposed to be leaving on a supply run and Leia had, for reasons neither of them had been sure of, escorted him to the _Falcon_. Not realizing there was a rebel with a holocamera around, Han had put his arm around her shoulders when he saw her shivering. Before he knew it, her arm was around his waist, and he was leaning down to whisper dirty jokes in her ear. They had a good laugh, moved away from each other, and pretended it had never happened. Had they known they were being watched, it _wouldn't_ have happened. Luckily, the holocube found its way to Han pretty quickly, and not too many people saw it before him. The pair never would have lived it down if Wes Janson had seen it. Even Chewie wouldn't have been able to keep him quiet.

"Give that to the kids, so they can see Mommy and Daddy happy together, since they'll never see it in person."

Leia set the holocube down on the pillow as she made her way over to Han. She was tempted to grab him by the shirt and shake him until he gave her what she was looking for, but resisted the urge. "You _still_ haven't answered me. Why can't you be there?"

When Han looked at her now, it was with dry eyes, a steely gaze, and a set jaw. "I can't raise them because I won't be around. I'm not coming back into your lives for… however long, only to leave you all, _again_."

Beginning to understand, Leia moved closer. Hands flat on his chest, she pressed herself against him. She had to crane her neck to look up into his eyes, but was glad to see he met her gaze. "Don't, Han. It's that simple, just don't leave." She knew she was baiting him, but she needed to.

And suddenly his lips were crushed against hers, kissing her with the fierce passion she had missed for so long. It was the kind of kiss that if she didn't stop it _now_, she'd wake up a few hours later in the bunk next to a naked Han Solo.

As appealing as the idea might be, she couldn't let that happen – not right now, anyway. Finding that she had unconsciously wrapped one hand tight in Han's shaggy hair, she used her grip to tear his head away from hers. When she released him, though, his lips found her neck, pushing at the collar of her shirt.

No matter his actions, Leia knew this was not a lustful Han. Well, that too, but that wasn't his first priority. In the short time that they had spent as more than friends – admittedly it wasn't long – she had quickly learned the difference between lustful and trying to change the subject. For better or for worse, she knew Han Solo. Had his reaction been different, slower, more calm, he would have been telling her he'd stay. And that was what she had been hoping for.

Pushing away from him roughly, Leia just managed not to get pinned to the wall when he tried to swing them around and trade places. If he had her pinned, he could control the situation much more easily, something they were both well aware of. "Han." She tried to sound scolding, but it didn't work out. Neither did the glare she tried to give him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she took two steps backward and said, "Han, just tell me what's wrong. Please, I want to help, and I know you don't want to talk about it –"

Han snorted. "What was your first clue?" he asked, dropping back to lie on the bed. As he did, he flicked his hand out and knocked the holocube to the ground. That freed up his pillow, which he then placed over his face, smothering the frustrated howl he let out. Judging by the muffled version, Leia was of the opinion that he could rival Chewie in that department.

She gave him a minute to collect himself, then sat on the edge of the bed and snatched the pillow away. He was driving her nuts, and not in the good way.

Well, maybe a little.

Before she had a chance to collect her thoughts, his wild and erratic gaze met hers and he said in a frantic voice, "I can't, Leia, I can't."

_Aw, kriff._ Now _he_ was going crazy. Han scrambled backwards until he was sitting upright, his eyes flicking around the cabin at lightspeed. Even his hair was everywhere. He really _was_ scruffy looking.

"Han, Han! Calm down." Leia put a hand on his arm, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He may have been having mood swings before, but he wasn't going nuts. Not like this. Luke said he went from happy to pissed in half a second, but always swung right back to happy, or sad, or thoughtful – except for the time he collapsed, of course. Now Leia worried that he might faint again, or… well, she didn't know what else. But she didn't want to find out what might happen, either.

"Please, Han," she said pleadingly, putting her hand on his cheek again. His eyes found hers and he focused for a second. When she moved her hand away from his skin, he couldn't concentrate on her.

That was all she needed to know. Leia pushed him back down so he was lying flat, threw one leg over his body so she was straddling him, and supported her weight on her forearms. With one hand on each cheek, Han's gaze was amazingly steady, and he was asked once more to tell her what was wrong. He answered almost before she finished asking, and Leia was glad to hear that his voice was back to normal, not the frenzied mess it had been before. She smoothed his hair back as he spoke, bracing herself. But as it turned out, there was nothing that could have prepared her for what he said, because she believed every word of it the instant he spoke.

"I'm dying, Leia. I'm dying, and there ain't nothing anyone can do about it."

**Random Fact #11: Early in chapter one, Han needed to calm down because he had just talked to the rebel doctors about the fact that he was dying.**

**Also, I feel like I used that Hoth analogy (referring to red noses) twice in this story, but if I did then I can't find the other time.  
><strong>


	12. Rebuilding

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

When Leia finally regained awareness, it happened slowly. The first thing she noticed was the fact that everything had gone black. Next she became aware of warmth in front of her, and the soft feel of blankets beneath. She was lying on her left side, facing into the warm… thing, which was also soft on the surface, but less so underneath. It took her a few moments more to realize that it was Han, and the softness was his tee shirt. It was also soaked.

The smuggler had one arm over Leia's body and the other under his head as a pillow, since she was using his. She looked around in confusion. "You collapsed on top of me when I told you I'm dying," Han said, deciding to tell her straight out. If she was going to freak out again, might as well get it over with now. "Started hyperventilating and grasping at something only you could see, so I rolled you onto your side and calmed ya down. It's weird, seeing you freaked out made _me_ calm down, I guess."

Seeing her eyes wander to the wet patch on his shirt, he finished with, "You cried. A lot." He surprised both of them by not making any of the cocky comments this would normally have brought from him. Instead, he pulled her closer, using his right hand to brush her hair out of her face. Her skin was cold and clammy, so Han, still holding her against him, sat up and wiggled the comforter out from underneath them. It wasn't an easy task, since it had been tucked into the bunk with military precision and they were both sitting on it, but he managed.

Using one arm, Han pulled the thick, dark blue blanket back up, this time over them, and settled in to lie down again. The whole time, Leia was limp, only too happy to let him maneuver them as a single entity. She snuggled closer to Han, knowing she was being selfish – he didn't want her near him, but wouldn't protest, either. And now that she had learned she had a limited amount of time left with this man one way or the other, she was going to make the best of it.

"Three years is far too long," she mumbled into his shirt.

Stroking her hair, Han didn't respond beyond a nod that Leia couldn't see. They were both facing the same issue – they had tried to move on with their lives, even thought they had. But since they were together again, each realized nothing from the past three years was what they were looking for. Now that they'd rediscovered what had been missing, they had only a limited amount of time to spend together.

That figured.

Several minutes of silence passed before Leia whispered, still into the wet fabric of his shirt, "Han, are you really dying?"

His hand paused in her hair and it took him so long to answer that Leia got up the courage to look at his face. To her surprise, he was looking back at her, instead of at the ceiling like she had expected.

Han waited several more moments before nodding, slowly. "Yes."

A solitary tear ran down Leia's cheek, and Han brushed it away with his thumb. Feeling the moisture in his own eyes, he tightened his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. It smelled like the shuura-scented shampoo she used to use – and apparently still did. It was soft and silky, but shorter than he'd ever seen it. And he found that he liked it this way better. It was already getting in the way less, and they hadn't done anything. "Now you know why I can't stay," he muttered into her hair, his voice wavering slightly. "And why _this_" – he gave her a squeeze to indicate the present situation – "is unacceptable."

"I don't care," Leia responded, lifting her head free of the cage Han's body had made around her. "You're here now, and that's what matters."

"No!" he said forcefully. He let go and sat up against the bulkhead. Immediately, Leia followed suit, snuggling up against his chest. Like before, he no longer reacted, but at least he looked at her. "I can't spend the next few months with you and the kids pretendin' everything's all right. If nothing else, it'll completely shatter your reputation. Everyone'll figure out the kids are mine and not Kal's, you'll look heartless for goin' back to me so soon after his death, and then you'll be alone again anyway. Your second lover to be betrayed by his own body. People are gonna get suspicious and even start to think that you're behind the deaths for your own personal gain. I'm not doin' it!"

Even though Leia could protest and counter argue every sentence of Han's little rant, there was one phrase she latched on to, one thing she had to make him understand. Her voice was as soft as a wokling's fur. "Kal may have been my husband, Han, but we were never lovers."

She had tried to tell him that in the cockpit, but he hadn't been just teasing her – he hadn't believed a word of it. That much had been obvious from the look on his face. Now, though, he bought it. There was lest jest in this conversation to begin with. "Kal was a good lookin' guy. You're tellin' me that you never… gods, Princess, you're almost as bad as Luke!"

That earned him a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, but I have kids. Kids I didn't even _want_. I hardly wanted to have more of them. Besides, unlike you, Kal was a gentleman. He didn't initiate anything he knew I didn't want."

"Are you calling me a scoundrel again, Your Worship?" he inquired, flashing her a cocky grin. In another time and place that would've been followed quickly by something along the lines of "Because I can show you just how true that is" and his hands would be under her shirt as he pushed her back on the bed and expertly pinned her down, having his way with her until she was begging –

_No._

Not with another death sentence on his head, one that he had no way of getting out of. He couldn't do that, not to Leia. And he could hardly be the second father to die on Aster and Kessel. Well, he would be, but they didn't need to know it.

"Maybe I am," Leia answered, tipping her head back to look up at him. It didn't matter what he said; she wanted him to stick around for the rest of his life, however short a time that might be. And in this moment, she didn't care about her public image. That may change when said image did, but for now, it was the least of her concerns. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And you know how I feel about scoundrels."

"Yeah, you like nice men better," he responded, climbing over her to drop to the floor. When he had disappeared into his room, it hadn't been with the intention of lying on his bed for over an hour, it had been to change and go back out to the hold. The others had gotten their dinners, but Han had been playing with the kids.

Leaving Leia alone in his room, Han made his way to the main hold. Before he had even thought about what he was going to eat, he noticed a plate on the table, a folded piece of flimsy next to it with his name scrawled on one side.

The plate was loaded with food, but not any that Han kept on the _Falcon_. Smoked nerf and bantha steak next to flatbread smeared with green bantha butter? He didn't even know what kind of cheese was sitting there. It all looked and smelled delicious, but Han wasn't sure why the twins had brought him the food. And obviously they had, because he had never stored any of this on board.

The best part was the ryshcate – although the glass of pallie wine was pretty damn good too.

It seemed like the instant he was done eating, settling back in his seat with contentment, that Luke had appeared to take away his plate and fill his wine glass. "Good service here," Han said, cracking one eye to look at the Jedi, who flashed him a grin and disappeared.

Hey, why bother questioning it? Han decided he wouldn't anymore… until Leia entered the hold in one of his old tee shirts and, as far as he could tell, nothing else. Quickly trying to distract himself, he asked, "What was with the dinner, Princess? Luke didn't have all that food with him when he showed up yesterday, that means you had to have brought it."

"We had to tell you that you had kids," Leia said with a shrug. Actually she'd been grocery shopping when Luke had called, but there was no real reason to tell Han that. "The very least we could do was cook you dinner while we were at it. Especially since you always eat the same foods when you're on the _Falcon_. Although admittedly I figured we'd all eat together, but you were playing with the kids. There's plenty more for later, though."

As she spoke, Leia slid across the bench to sit next to Han, playing with the hem of the tee shirt. "I hope you don't mind," she added nervously, "I wanted to change but all my clothes are out here and besides, I didn't have pajamas anyway."

"Leia, I'm not sticking around, no matter how many of my shirts you wear."

Embarrassed, Leia ducked her head. Quietly, she apologized, "I shouldn't have pressured you the way I did. I'm sorry, Han. I just… let my emotions get the better of me." That was a rare occurrence for her under normal circumstances, but around Han it was very common. "I don't want you to leave. And I… well you… I mean…"

"You got a bit of a shock," he filled in, and she nodded.

"That's one way to put it."

Han put a comforting arm around her shoulders, despite realizing that the action was a bit counterproductive. "I'm sorry too. I haven't exactly been acting like myself since the carbonite. God knows I would've caved otherwise."

Pulling Leia closer to him, Han placed a kiss on the top her head. He was about to compliment her new hairstyle, but found himself interrupted. "Carbonite? What does that have to do with anything?"

_Kriff, Solo, you idiot._ "Huh? Oh, I dunno. Things have just been different since then, you know?"

Leia seemed to accept that, but it was only a matter of time before she got over the shock enough to ask him what he was dying of. He hardly wanted to tell her the reason, because she would ultimately blame herself, he knew. She would go back as far as she could until discovering something that was her fault – like not leaving Echo Base. He went back for her, had to bring her on the _Falcon_, avoided the Imperials, damaged the hyperdrive, and he never would have ended up being tracked to Bespin if she had left the base just ten seconds earlier.

It wasn't as simple as that, of course, but that's how she would see it if she found out why he was dying, and so Han hoped she never asked.

"Why don't you go to bed for a while?" he suggested, even though he was sort of changing the subject, which might draw attention to his slip. But when Leia yawned in response, he knew it didn't matter.

"I haven't really slept since Kal died," she admitted, standing up. Instead of heading to the bunkroom, though, she went for the forward hold, where the kids were. Curious, Han followed and leaned against the doorway to watch Leia, swishing the wine in his glass. The mother sat cross-legged between the two makeshift beds, brushing Kessel's hair back from her face and pulling the blanket up to her chin. Turning, she did the same with Aster.

Han watched in the silence of his beloved ship. There was nothing he loved more in the galaxy than what was in front of him right now; the only thing missing was Chewbacca, who was still with his own family on Kashyyyk. He could die now a happy man, and of course, that's exactly what would happen if he stuck around. Was it worth it, to stay and have a happy month or so, only to die and leave Leia more alone than ever? It was selfish… but was it really, if that's what Leia wanted too?

He could debate it the rest of his life and never know which route to take… especially since that debate wouldn't actually last very long. Asking Luke was always an option, of course, but what if he said to stay away? Han didn't think he could bring himself to leave them again, no matter who it might be best for.

Picking his way carefully around the twin's belongings, scattered on the floor, Han made his way to Leia's side and rubbed Aster's soft blanket between his fingers. The material was much more worn that it had ever been when he used it. "He brings this everywhere, doesn't he?"

Leia nodded, bending to kiss Aster on the forehead. The boy turned slightly towards his mother, his young face showing the slightest of smiles as he slept. "I miss it sometimes," Leia commented. "The innocence of youth."

Personally, Han thought it amusing to hear this comment from someone ten years his junior, but said only, "You lost that innocence striving to let them keep theirs." He was tempted to tack on the other kind of innocence she'd lost and how it related to them, but decided not to. He had a decent streak of non-sexual comments going right now. About one conversation's worth. Two if you didn't count talking about whether or not she and Kal were lovers and gave him the benefit of the doubt regarding the scoundrel comment right after that.

Standing slowly, Leia nodded again. "I guess I did."

She silently followed Han through the ship to his quarters, where he tucked her into bed and kissed her on the forehead much as she had done with Aster. That was no coincidence, and she knew it, but didn't comment on it.

"Han… don't leave?" she asked as he reached out to open the door. Turning slowly, he looked at his former lover and nodded.

"Okay."

That night, Han slept in the chair by his own bedside, refusing to allow himself any nearer to Leia. And though he woke stiff and sore hours later, he hadn't slept better in years.

**Random Fact #12: Chapters 10 & 11 were originally one chapter, but when it got close to 4000 words (almost double the other chapters) I split it in two and added pieces here and there so they were both adequate lengths – finding a spot to break it up wasn't easy.**


	13. Back to the Beginning

**We're almost done here. Only two more chapters after this.**

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

There was nothing Han liked more than the feeling of being in control of the _Millennium Falcon_. It had been over a month since it had been flyable, and when they'd taken off, he'd been in a drugged sleep. Taking the ship out of hyperspace was more than just routine, but that didn't mean he wouldn't relish it. Like when he had left Kamino for Corellia years previously, he was strapped in tight despite the ease of his job. Besides, you could never be too careful.

As the stars again became dots of light on the black backdrop of space, the five humans looked down at the yellow disc of Tatooine. Not that either of the children had any idea what it was, but as they sat in their mother's lap, they did point and laugh some.

Han looked over his shoulder with a small smile on his face. It still amazed him that Aster and Kessel were his children, and looking at them now he wondered how he could never have figured it out. He'd even noticed that they looked like him, for god's sake, and hadn't believed Luke anyway!

His eyes traveled up to meet Leia's steady gaze, and she returned his smile. How could he ever have left her, even if he knew he wouldn't live more than a few years? At the time, he'd barely believed the doctors anyhow. If he had stayed, though, those years would have been the best damn years anyone in the galaxy – in any galaxy – had ever lived. And he had missed out on them.

Could he force himself out of the best month he'd ever have? Could he exile himself, not allow himself near any of his friends or his family? Would they let him if he wanted to?

Han was pretty sure the answers to all those questions were no, and was beginning to wonder why he ever thought about getting away with any other option.

"So? Did we beat her?" he asked, turning back to the Jedi in his co-pilot chair.

Luke closed his eyes for a moment before answering, "Yes. She isn't in the system yet." Han barely had time to wonder if she was merely misleading them when Luke continued, "But she'll be here soon. She's approaching fast."

"Okay, so what's this plan of yers, kid?" He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest and turning to face his friend.

"Simple. We wait here until she shows up, you and Leia manage the quads, and I pilot the ship." Seeing Han's 'you've got to be kidding me' look, he hastily amended, "Leia and I man the quads, and you pilot the ship. We take her out here, above the planet. Worst case scenario, she escapes and we follow her down to the planet to take care of her there." Leia drew breath to ask a question, but again he kept going, too fast for an interruption. "We can't go down to the surface to meet her because we don't know for sure where she'll end up. We only _suspect_ Anchorhead, which is exactly why she might not go there."

The other two adults shared a look and shrugged. Sounded fine to them. "How long we got, Master Skywalker?" the Corellian asked.

"Two hours, give or take. So if you'd like to join me in some pre-mission meditation, now would be the time." He flashed a grin and left the cockpit with a sticky two-year-old hand in each of his, knowing neither would follow. It didn't matter; he wasn't actually going to meditate, or he wouldn't have brought the kids with him.

Leia slipped into the seat Luke had just vacated as Han 'parked' them about a hundred kilometers from where the planet's gravity would kick in. Moving as though he had all the time in the world, he began to unbuckle his harness as slowly as possible. It came as no surprise when smaller hands worked their way under his and unfastened the crash webbing much faster than he had been. What did surprise him was when the hands were deliberately brushed against him in an intimate way as they moved from buckle to buckle. Butterflies took flight in his stomach at the unexpected, but very welcome, touch.

"Well Your Highness, you seem eager today," he remarked as he shrugged out of the elaborate strap system. Almost before he was done talking, Leia was sitting in his lap with her head on his shoulder, looking up into his eyes.

"Luke left us alone for a reason, flyboy."

"Why yes, to go meditate, I believe." Smirking, Han placed a hand on Leia's knee, sliding it slowly up her thigh to eventually rest on her hip. Her answer was a scowl that was covered quickly by Han's lips.

He deepened the kiss as his hands moved to her hair and the back of her neck. For Han, there was nothing in the galaxy like kissing Leia Organa, and for Leia the same was true of him. He didn't know how he'd gone so long without this – the other day in the bunkroom hardly counted, he was only trying to distract her. Deep down, he knew he shouldn't have done it then or now, but it was too late.

When she had to pull back for breath, Han's lips traveled across her jaw and down her neck, sucking ever so slightly, but never enough to mark. He started to move the elastic collar of his old tee shirt out of the way, then leaned back and regarded her carefully instead. _Kriff, does it matter at this point? No matter what I do, it's gonna be tough on her when I die anyway. If she wants it and I want it, then why the hell not?_

Han picked Leia up in his arms and carried her to his cabin.

* * *

><p>Stepping out of the shower, Han didn't have time to grab a towel before he sank to the cold floor, vision black around the edges. Even sitting and unable to see, the room seemed to be spinning, and it was several minutes before he stand and toweled himself off.<p>

When he could get up again, he ran the towel over his body once and changed quickly into his white shirt and dark blue pants, today with red bloodstripe piping down the side. Slipping into his customary black vest, the Corellian grabbed his boots, socks stuffed in them, and holstered blaster and left the room, headed for the cockpit. Taking a nice hot water shower before every firefight was the way he prepared. It was his version of meditating. Although admittedly, today, that wasn't his only reason.

Luke and Leia were already in the cockpit, and Han sat in the pilot's chair to tug his socks and boots on. "She's about to come out of hyperspace, if I'm not mistaken," Luke informed him. "Leia and I are going to head to the turrets."

The smuggler nodded, standing to buckle on his blaster. "I'm going to strap the kids in in the hold, first," Luke continued, and left. At one time it would have seemed natural to say good luck, or even May the Force be with you, and give his sister a hug. But now, he knew better. He couldn't say anything too final before a fight, because he refused to believe they wouldn't be okay.

Han and Leia felt the same going into a firefight, but that didn't stop them from sharing a long, lingering kiss before Leia left for the upper turret. It wasn't a good bye or a good luck, it was more of a 'hello, we're about to be very busy, but we can finish this later.'

The smuggler sat down and strapped himself quickly into his crash webbing again. There was a headset hanging on a hook to his left; he put it on and adjusted it quickly. Running his fingers over the switches and buttons on the console in front of him, he sighed in contentment. There were few things he liked more than this, and every last one of _those_ related to Leia.

Looking out the viewport brought a ship into Han's sight. He recognized it immediately; it was like looking in a mirror. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he said into the headset. Even Luke seemed taken aback, with only a "Woah" crackling over the line.

Flying toward them was a YT-1300 light freighter manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation – the same model ship as the _Millennium Falcon_. "This is freaking me out a little bit," Han admitted. "She really has been watching me." Luke and Leia's laughter sounded over the headset as the pilot powered up the _Falcon_'s many shields and guns. Most of the actual shooting would be done by the twins, but it couldn't hurt to be ready.

In the upper turret, Leia spun to face the oncoming ship. She didn't really need the targeting display, either – they were pretty damn close. Too close.

None of them doubted it was Sola, but her ship wouldn't have all the same modifications of Han's. Hopefully that meant they'd be able to take her down now, and not have to step foot in the desert. Of course, not having 'the same modifications' didn't mean that her ship wouldn't have _better_ alterations. "Did anyone ever notice that Han's stalker's name is Sola and his last name is Solo?" Leia asked. Neither man responded, although she knew them both well enough to know they had thoughtful looks on their faces. She was right, of course.

There was a shot fired by the approaching ship, and suddenly the sky was alight with bolts from both sides. Han dodged the incoming fire expertly, but noticed even as he did that he felt sluggish. The speed of his ship didn't matter if he couldn't tell it what to do fast enough. _Kriff, this isn't good._

"Uh, Han?" It was Luke in the bottom turret. "I have a problem." He squeezed the triggers, but nothing happened. "Something is disconnected down here."

Swearing in several different languages, Han recalled forcing Sola into the turret. There had been a snapping sound, hadn't there? "Luke, get back up here. Leia, force her down," Han said. "Put a web of shots around the top and sides, I'll get her when she dives."

Leia did her job well, but Sola wasn't your typical pilot. "Figures she's good at this," Han muttered. Instead of taking a straight dive down like he thought she would, the other ship dropped below his flight path and darted by underneath. Han couldn't even get off a shot.

"She's too close," Han reported, looking at various readouts as he spun around to face the fleeing ship again. The other freighter looked bigger than it should; much bigger.

Leia opened fire on the ship as soon as Han drew level with them – but so did the young man in the turret of the other ship. "What the –"

The _Falcon_ shuddered, but the shields held. "Han, this is like trying to get ten to be more than ten. We're too evenly matched – she has at least one more person on board, in the upper turret."

"Are you sure?" It was Luke's voice. Bolts shook the ship again, and Luke took over the controls from Han, who was visibly shaking.

"I'm looking at him."

"That's not evenly matched, sweetheart, we have three adults and a paira kids, can't you count?"

That was what worried her, actually. The kids. "Maybe we should do this on Tatooine," she responded, holding the triggers tight and spraying fire at the other ship. Sola pulled up and did a flip to come around behind them again. "If something goes wrong –"

"It will if you keep talking like that instead of shooting."

"Sorry for not wanting to get your kids killed, Solo!" Leia responded angrily, but before she'd even finished speaking he instructed Luke to turn toward the planet. Maybe he wasn't as pigheaded as he wanted them to think.

Sola matched them move for move, and the guy manning her laser canons only shot if Leia did. It was _exactly_ like looking into a mirror.

"Maybe we can lead her where _we_ want to go," Luke suggested. "She seems to be doing everything we're doing, so why not?"

"I thought it was your idea to finish this without ever landing on the damned planet?" Han's voice crackled over the headset.

"It was. Bestine?"

"Too busy." Han tried a few jinks, trying to draw Sola into a vulnerable position, while he and Luke debated where to bring them down. "Anchorhead? Like you said earlier, it's where we expect her to be, isn't it?"

"Too small, though. We need some population, but not an excess."

"We've come to the right planet for 'not an excess,' kid."

The boys were silent for a few moments, thinking. Leia took a moment to remember maps of Tatooine she had studied. "Why not Mos Eisley? Big spaceport, but not a great reputation so no one will be surprised to see a fight."

"They will be when it involves lightsabers," Han said, but there was a thoughtful edge to his voice. "What'd you think kid?"

Luke responded jokingly, "It's probably good luck for us, right? It's where we met, and if we had found different transport then we never would've saved Leia or even gotten those Death Star plans back to the rebels."

"And I wouldn't've been there to save your asses, either." With that, Han punched in the coordinates for Mos Eisley and angled the ship towards the planet's horizon.

**Random Fact #13: Luke's girl's name is taken from his Wookieepedia page, but the character is unrelated. I'm already messing with the universe, so hey.**

**Fanfiction sin to read without reviewing.  
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	14. Mahn Uhl Fharth Bey Ihn Valle

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

The kids were asleep in Han's bunk, the ship was locked up tight, and the blasters were charged. Leia even had her lightsaber with her for once, but it was the blaster she held ready as they left the docking bay. Silently, Luke pointed the hilt of his own weapon down a side street and led them that way. Sometimes at intersections he would hold up a hand for them to wait while he decided which way to go, other times he would change direction so suddenly Han and Leia would almost miss the turn themselves.

The heat was scorching and Han soon realized that rolling up his sleeves was the best option. Preferably he would also have left his black vest on the ship, but he'd forgotten that Tatooine was so damned_ hot_. _At least we aren't in the_ desert_ desert. Just the _city_ desert,_ he thought sarcastically. It was still much too hot; he was dizzy and things looked blurrier than he thought they should.

Ducking into a crowded cantina, the group put their weapons away. Han joked, "Luke, I'm pretty sure getting us all drunk before the fight isn't such a good idea." He paused, then, as if he had come to a sudden realization, "Unless we're _trying_ to get ourselves killed, in which case, get me an Alderaanian ale."

"Same," Leia said sarcastically as they moved through the crowd. "What the heck are we doing in here?"

"Finding my former apprentice," the Jedi replied curtly. Even as he spoke, he caught sight of the tall woman and discreetly pointed her out. Almost as suddenly, she turned and made eye contact with Han. Next to her was a young man, maybe twenty.

"That's the gunner from her ship," Leia noted as the two slipped out a back door.

"Well he throws an interesting twist into this game," Luke commented. "He's Force-sensitive."

The small group pushed people out of their way to get through the mob of bargoers, but it wasn't easy. It only got worse the harder they tried, not only because people resisted but because they realized they were looking at heroes. Or, especially in Han's case, a great piece of gossip – who was now with Luke and his former lover. The three faces had been plastered all over the HoloNet since the _Falcon_ had left Corellia with both sets of twins onboard. Speculations abound regarding the current relationship between Leia and Han, and, almost as importantly, Han and the younger twins.

Han drew his blaster about halfway across the room. No one knew, of course, that he wasn't going to shoot them. In fact, he hadn't even done it to intentionally scare them off – but it worked. After that, getting through the room was much easier. Luke and Leia pulled out their weapons, too, and as they left through the back door Han remarked, "See? Blasters are always good for something. Holding up a shiny metal tube isn't very intimidating, Luke."

The Jedi spun and pressed the end of his saber hilt against Han's chest, a large grin splitting his face as he teased his friend. "True, but if you do it this way, your victim can see that it's a lightsaber and suddenly, they're a little bit more than terrified."

"I see your point," Han said coolly, motioned for Luke to carry on.

There was no sign of Sola or the boy. Luke cocked his head as if to listen for a moment, then directed them down the alley to the left. Han and Leia exchanged a look and shrugged. "Yeah, _that's_ normal," Han muttered, following his friend. During his time with the Rebellion, he'd gotten used to Luke's Force nonsense. Since then, apparently he'd forgotten about it, because it seemed very odd indeed.

The so-called chase seemed to span half of Mos Eisley, but Han never once saw their prey. Luke and even, on occasion, Leia would sense the other Jedi's presence, but they didn't catch up. Han, at least, let out of sigh of relief when they passed into the New Quarter. Nowhere in the city was very friendly, but it was better here than the Old Quarter.

"That's where Luke and I met," Han commented as the small group passed by the backdoor Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina. "Kenobi was with him, and they were looking for passage to Alderaan."

"That's only slightly more romantic than the detention center on the Death Star in the middle of an impromptu rescue mission," Leia replied. "No wonder you've got such a good bromance going on."

Luke shushed them and ducked down another twisting alleyway. However, it was almost another full hour of exposure to the Tatooine sun at midday before Han was able to see movement, and the three broke into a run. Han noted as he did that if they had any true distance to cover, the twins would have been far ahead of him in no time.

Rounding a corner sharply, Luke almost found himself impaled on a glowing purple blade. Ducking, he slid a little and scrambled to get back to his feet as he ignited his lightsaber, using it to keep Sola's away.

The next twenty meters or so were wide with high buildings on either side. It was more like a small courtyard than an alley, and it was easy to see why Sola had picked to make a stand there.

"I see there's still no fooling you, Skywalker," she hissed, then let her gaze slide over to Han. Her voice became sultry when she addressed him. "Hello gorgeous. Would you like me to take care of this nuisance for you?" she asked, rolling her eyes in Leia's direction.

Han's answer was a blaster bolt, which she dodged easily. "Hope that's answer enough for ya."

"I'd like you three to meet my apprentice." Sola waved in the general direction of the young man, behind and to her left. "His name is Tav. He's nothing like the good General, however." Han scowled at her. Unperturbed, she went on, "Tav, meet your new training dummies – Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Senator Leia Organa-Moaco – she's a widow – and former Alliance General Han Solo."

Unconsciously, three pairs of eyes slid towards Tav as she spoke. Taking the opportunity, Sola quickly lashed out with her lightsaber. Luke deflected it, but now Tav's blade was lit too, a bright yellow that was hard to see against the backdrop of sand-colored buildings. Lunging forward, the apprentice slashed at Leia, but had to dodge out of the way of Han's blaster bolts. With a growl, he slunk back, unintentionally allowing Han and Leia to slide further into the courtyard and so have more maneuverability.

The Corellian signaled something to Leia, and Tav looked back and forth between the two faces, failing to notice as Leia slowly and with minimal movement withdrew her lightsaber.

"Some apprentice you are," Han taunted, and the young man's gaze shot back to him. It gave Leia the instant she needed, lunging forward with her own blue lightsaber.

Tav was a little faster than they gave him credit for, but not by much. Barely deflecting Leia's saber, he couldn't block Han's next shot. It grazed his arm, making the apprentice gasp in pain. "Well, if you survive this fight, kid, you'll either be incapacitated or a pretty damn talented fighter."

On the other side of the small square, Luke was engaged in a duel with Sola. He blocked her attacks effortlessly, unwilling to make any of his own. He still remembered Yoda's words warning against attacking, to use his weapon only for defense, but if he was already in the middle of a fight, then it wasn't quite the same. Still, he wanted to get a feel for how Sola fought.

"Now I know why you didn't like to practice your lightsaber skills around me," he grunted, blocking a particularly vicious overhand blow.

Sola said nothing, choosing instead to continue the barrage of attacks. She wasn't particularly graceful, but she _was_ strong. Several times Luke found it easier to dodge an attack than to parry it, because occasionally one of her blows made his arm tingle for a moment, as if it were going to go numb. That was the last thing he needed right now.

"What's your plan, Sola?"

"Well," she started, sweeping her blade low and forcing Luke to jump over it, "I suppose that's the least I can do for you. You see, after your friend Han crashes his beloved _Millennium Falcon_ with you onboard, I'll take my ship back to Coruscant and take it upon myself to train your Jedi scum." It surprised Luke that she was telling him this; apparently she thought her plan was foolproof. "If you're good, I'll leave your niece and nephew on the ship."

As he fought off her attacks, even launching his own once or twice, Luke wondered what she was talking about. What she'd said was effectively 'I'll kill the kids if you're good.'

Before he could comment on it, pieces started falling into place. "You were after Han to get to me. You went on his ship so you could see what he'd done with it, copy it, and crash _yours_."

"You're a little slow on the uptake, Master," Sola grunted, using the Force to push Luke back. "Why would I crash the best ship in the galaxy when I could take it for my own?"

_If she leaves the kids on the _Falcon_, she's bringing them back to Coruscant with her. Alive, but trained to use the Dark Side._

A strangled yell from across the way drew their attention for a moment, and the hiss-crackle of the duel paused long enough to see Tav, moaning, fall forward, a blue blade sticking out of his back. The yellow blade of his own weapon hissed off as it fell from his hand, and Han kicked the hilt away quickly, then put a blaster bolt in the man's back to put him out of his misery as much as anything else.

"That was easier than I expected," Han remarked, not realizing he was slurring his words a bit. Even as he said it, he realized the brief action, the chase through the streets, and the heat were getting to him. His vision was terrible, and he couldn't hear Leia, though he thought maybe she was trying to say something.

Sola, enraged at the death of her apprentice, swung her saber like a club. Luke had to literally fall backwards to avoid getting cut in half. Before he could get his feet under him, his attacker charged… but not at him.

Leia rolled Tav over, taking her lightsaber out of his stomach. A little freaked out by his lifeless stare, she slid his eyelids closed and stood, turning, at the sound of a frightened "Look out!" – to find Sola coming at her, lightsaber hissing as it was twirled like a baton.

The next second seemed to take an eternity, and the former Princess of Alderaan knew this was the end. Likely a painful one, too. She had trained with Luke, of course, but had never been in a real lightsaber duel until now, and her arms seemed to turn to stone. She didn't want to die.

How could she manage to evade the Empire for years on end, despite being a known Rebel leader, and then die on a backwater planet like Tatooine, at the hands of a rogue Jedi? And what would happen to Aster and Kessel? _They'll live with their dad._ And when he died, like he said he was going to soon? She didn't even know _why_ he was dying, and now she never would. _They'll go live and train with Luke._ Well, that would be okay, wouldn't it? Her brother would definitely treat them well, and they liked him.

Things began to happen very fast once she felt the arms around her waist. Her breath was knocked out of her as her shoulder slammed hard into the dusty ground, and something cracked. There was something very heavy on top of her, and a stifled yelp. It took Leia a moment to realize that it had come from her savior, Han, who now lay half on top of her, unmoving.

Above them, Sola was seething with anger. Her eyes had a yellowish tint to them, and Leia was still convinced she was going to die when the woman's head, with those ugly yellow eyes, landed next to her.

She screamed.

"Han! Leia!" Luke rushed over, kicking the head away and kneeling next to his sister. He tried to push down the nausea - he'd just _kicked_ a _head_.

It was immediately apparent that Leia, despite her shoulder, was not the one who needed help. Moving quickly, the Jedi rolled Han carefully onto his back, off of his sister. There was a large burnt hole in the middle of the smuggler's shirt, but it was what was under that that was the problem – the large burnt hole in the smuggler's flesh. His chest still rose and fell as he took shallow, ragged breaths.

"Han." Leia was shaking with fear as she wiped his sweaty hair back from his forehead. "Han, hang in there. Luke can… Luke, you can help him, can't you?"

The look on her brother's face told her all she needed to know, but Han didn't need to see it. Not that he could anyway. Things had gone black again. "Leia," he whispered, his voice weak. "Third time's the charm, right?"

Neither twin had any idea what he was talking about, but she nodded. "Good. Leia," he repeated, trying to make his words forceful despite his condition. "I love you."

Tears streaked through the Tatooine grime on Leia's cheeks as she cradled Han's head in her lap, unable to say anything more than tearful 'Han's. Luke held his friend's hand, wishing he could use the Force to heal injuries as severe as this – or at least give Han a few extra minutes to say good-bye. But no such luck. Han had what time he had and no amount of concentration or meditation was going to save him.

"I love you, Han," Leia choked out, kissing his forehead.

Ever the cocky wiseass, he muttered, "Then why aren't you kissing me on the lips? One… more time."

She obliged, pressing her lips hard against his, tasting a unique combination of sand, sweat, and Han. His free hand grasped weakly at hers, and when she pulled back he squeezed her hand as tight as he could. Her face swam before his eyes, but it was there. Staring into her eyes and trying to convey a lifetime of feelings with a single look, Han was able to ignore the pain and lack of breath for a few short, sweet moments.

"Luke," Han choked out before tearing his gaze from the younger twin. "It's almost poetic, isn't it? I… met you… here. We… doubled back. Chalmun's is… right there."

Leia glanced quickly over her shoulder to see a door with a crudely hand-printed sign with the bar's name on it. "It all… started… here. Now it… ends here."

"No," Leia muttered, but Han gave her a weak smile and a weaker nod.

"Mahn uhl Fharth bey ihn valle," he muttered, his eyes sliding shut. "Old Corellian." The twins had to lean closer to here the last bit. "May the Force… be with you."

After several silent moments, Luke checked Han's neck for a pulse. "He's gone."

**Random Fact #14: Chewie was living with Luke and Leia for much of this story. Then I remembered the life debt and had to rewrite several scenes.**

**Sorry, I can't update tomorrow. I _am_ actually going to go to the lake this weekend. I'll post the last chapter when I get back Sunday.  
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	15. Let Me Tell You About Your Fathers

**So who was pissed at me for ending the last chapter the way I did? And I don't just mean killing him, I mean going straight into my random fact about freaking Chewie and not acknowledging what I'd done.**

**_So._ I did go to the lake this weekend, I promise I didn't lie about that. But then, because of this whole Hurricane Irene thing (yup, I'm on the Eastern Seaboard), we came back home again. Hence, the update._  
><em>**

_**Unexpected Consequences**_

When Rieekan got the news of Han Solo's death, his first question was, "Was it the carbonite?"

He sat on the white couch in Leia's living room. Most of the furniture was white, accompanied by dark blue pillows and throw blankets with an orange pattern. The rug under the glass caf table was thick orange shag, and he was glad he'd taken his boots off before entering the apartment proper. There was a painting on one wall of a lake at sunset.

Only two things in the room didn't follow the same color scheme. One was a small holocube sitting on an end table, portraying Kal and the two young kids, Aster and Kessel. The other was a large painting a Rogue pilot – Wedge Antilles, if he wasn't mistaken – had painted while the rebels were cooped up on Hoth. One night, Wedge had found some old paint tucked away in an old crate and admitted he was rather good with a brush. The painting of the lounging Han Solo, clad in his dark blue jacket and pants and white shirt, proved that. Of course, it was only his skin and hair that didn't match the colors of the rest of the apartment. Even the background was a soft orange.

Leia cocked her head to one side, eyes red-rimmed and tears falling silently down her face. "What?"

At first, Rieekan's expression was as puzzled as Leia's, until realization dawned. "He never told you." It was a statement, not a question. At a shake of the head, he continued, "Han was dying." Leia nodded this time, and Rieekan's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "He told you he was dying, but not what from?"

Another nod. "Carbonite. He was poisoned by it and dying slowly." It wasn't something he wanted to tell her, but he couldn't just _not_ tell her, either. Might as well come right out and say it.

"What?" Leia repeated, more surprised than confused now.

"Yes. But I take it from your reaction that isn't what happened."

"He was… killed," Leia choked out, "by a J-jedi named Sola. On Tatooine."

"Oh, Leia…"

The two lapsed into silence, but it only lasted a moment before being cut off by a wail from the other room. A small smile flickered across Leia's face, but it didn't stay. Aster. Luke was with the kids in the other room while Rieekan was over, trying to keep them busy.

"They're Han's kids, aren't they?" Once more Leia nodded, and Rieekan put an arm around her shoulders and held her until the tears dried.

* * *

><p>The funeral ceremony was everything Han wouldn't have wanted it to be – massive and elaborate. He was cremated, as per Corellian tradition, with full military honors just outside Coronet City on Corellia. The 'honors' part had taken some persuasion, but since technically Luke had gotten him honorably discharged from the Alliance, Rieekan had managed to convince the government to allow it. Leia appreciated the gesture, although she knew Han probably would not have.<p>

Thousands of beings were in attendance, from every corner of the galaxy. Most of them didn't know Han on any personal level, but many had worked closely with him during the rebellion. Many more just wanted to say they had been there, while the remainder wanted to pay their respects to one of the biggest heroes of the Alliance. And of course, a live feed of the funeral was played on the HoloNet across the galaxy – another thing Han wouldn't want. But since he wasn't there, he had no say.

After the ceremony, Leia, Luke, and Chewbacca sat with the small urn containing Han's ashes. Tomorrow, they would make those ashes into synthetic diamonds using an artificial gravity generator - the last bit of the Corellian tradition.

While they stared at the urn, their three children wandered off. Soon after, Baye came up to them. "Excuse me? Senator?"

Chewie already knew her and Luke recognized the girl from the day Aster and Kessel were born, but Leia had no idea who she was. "I'm Baye, Baye Horn. Yes – Corran is my cousin," she added, seeing Leia's reaction to the last name. The other two already knew that, of course. "I was Han's…" – she stumbled over the word, clearly embarrassed to be having this conversation with Leia Organa of all people – "girlfriend… until just before you showed up here."

"I'm sorry," Leia said, trying to sound it. She would be sorry, if she weren't too numb. "I swear, I didn't contact him. I'm sorry, I know you must not believe me, the timing being what it is –"

"No! No, that's not it," Baye insisted. "I didn't mean to insinuate that I thought we broke up because of you. I-I broke up with him, actually. The… the person who killed him… she was on the _Falcon_ with him, and she was… well, she wanted me to believe that he was cheating on me. And common sense told me that he was telling the truth when he denied it, but when I walked in she was kissing him. Now that she… well, since he's…"

"I'm sorry." It was Luke this time, and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Chewbacca brushed the hand off to give her a furry hug.

"Thanks," Baye said softly, when Chewie released her. "I'm sorry too. I know he was closer to the three of you than he ever was to me." Before Luke could deny it – although he wouldn't be entirely surprised to learn she was right – she caught sight of Aster and Kessel, toddling around on a small hill a few meters away. "Did Han know about them?" she asked, pointing. Leia walked off to go collect them, and soon the three were sitting at the top of the hill, pointing at the flowers and the birds and the trees. Chewbacca went to grab Lumpy, who was chasing a small animal through the trees of the nearby forest.

Baye and Luke watched them for a few minutes before the latter said, "We told him before he died, yes. They shared a good few days together. He was a great father."

On the hill, Leia pulled each of the twins closer to her side. Aster, usually even bouncier than his sister, leaned into his mom. They could tell something was wrong, and normally looking at the colorful animals and plants on foreign planets amused them, but not today.

After a long conversation with Luke, Baye shook his hand and left with a last glance at the urn. When she was gone, Leia walked over, a youngling clinging to each hand.

"I want you to train them," Leia said, "when they're old enough. I want them to be able to defend themselves better than their mother can." Luke tried to interrupt, so his sister covered his mouth with her hand, letting go of Kessel in the process. Subdued by the somber mood today, the girl did not wander away. "Don't say anything, please. I should have let you train me fully. I could have saved myself without Han's help. I guess it would've happened eventually, but… less violently."

"Leia… I wanted to talk to you about that. Come here." Luke led his sister to the couple of folding chairs that had been set up for them, next to the funeral pyre. A folded Alliance to Restore the Republic flag was sitting on one of them, left there by Leia. Technically Han hadn't been part of the New Republic military, but it seemed wrong not to give him a flag. It had been made solely with the intent of draping it over his body, as opposed to finding an old one as some had suggested. That was Rieekan's doing again.

"That's what Baye wanted to talk to me – well, us, but you left – about. The day that she found Sola on the _Falcon_, she was trying to find Han because someone from the New Republic was looking for him. They had been trying to reach him for months, but Han didn't know why so when someone from the New Republic approached him, he shook them off or pretended he wasn't home. Apparently he was pretty good at it, too, because she never noticed them until recently."

"So?" Leia didn't get where this story was going, and wasn't sure she wanted to sit here staring at Han's ashes much longer.

"Leia, look at me." When she didn't, and it became clear she wouldn't, Luke grabbed her chin and forced her to turn to him. "They had a cure for him."

His sister's eyes went wide as she realized what he was saying.

"He didn't know, and Baye went to the _Falcon_ to tell him, but when she saw Sola she was upset and forgot about the cure until later. Han didn't pick up the comm when she tried to get in touch with him."

The news didn't make her feel any better. In fact, a tear leaked out of the corner of Leia's eye. "So if he hadn't saved my life, he would still be alive?" she asked, choking the words out. It obviously caused her pain just to think about it, but Luke shook his head.

"_No_, Leia. Think about it. If Han knew that he'd let you die, would he have been alive? Physically, maybe, for a time. But would it have lasted? No. He wouldn't have taken the cure then anyway, if he figured out it existed. He would've felt too guilty, and forced himself to have a slow, painful death by poison." Leia had looked away again; Luke moved to kneel in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. "That wouldn't have mattered anyway, Leia. Because that's on the assumption he hadn't saved your life. And in no universe would Han Solo _not_ save Leia Organa's life."

"If I could have defended myself –"

"Han probably wouldn't have let you. Think about it. You know him. He wanted to go down fighting, not by succumbing to a disease. He didn't know there was a third option, so he went down fighting."

Leia drew a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. It was several minutes before she nodded slowly. "Maybe you're right."

"Maybe?"

A small smile formed on her face. _Han wouldn't want you to be upset._ "Okay, Luke. You're right." The smile transformed into a mischievous grin. "And for being right, you get to tell Chewie."

* * *

><p>Little ten-year-old boys and girls ran rampant around the yard and vacation house on Corellia. In the distance, the landspeeder pulled up one last time, as Chewbacca brought the last group of Aster and Kessel's friends from the nearby spaceport. Leia shook her head at Luke. "This is crazy. Why did we invite so many kids?" she asked as Lumpy ran by.<p>

"Because he and Chewie are around to keep them in line," he answered, gesturing at the Wookiee's retreating back.

The younger twins broke away from the group of friends they were playing with to greet the new arrivals, and many of the others tagged along. The mob of kids surrounded Chewie and swallowed the arrivals into their midst. Aster and Kessel were almost more excited for the brightly-wrapped presents than the friends from Coruscant they hadn't seen for months.

Luke and Leia followed and freed the kids, with Chewie's help, of the gifts, bringing them inside to the living room. "Maybe this is why they wanted so many friends here," Luke joked, looking around at the piles of presents. "I've never seen two more spoiled ten-year-olds."

"I'm not complaining," Leia said, not realizing she was contradicting herself. "It means I don't have to spend as much, and they'll be happy anyway." Chewie let out a barking laugh, but it was short. The happy moment didn't last long. The smiles dropped off their faces as they looked at the holo of Aster, Kessel, and Leia hanging on the wall behind the presents.

"I wish Han were here," Leia muttered, reaching up to touch the diamond necklace she wore and sagging back against Chewie. The furry arms that wrapped around her were more comforting than suffocating, but did make it a little tricky to breathe. Later, she would realize that was the point, because she pulled away laughing, "Chewie, I need to _breathe_, or we'll kind of ruin the kids' party."

He gave an apologetic shrug and left the room again to go quiet the kids running up and down the stairs.

After the fried ice cream and air cake, after Chewbacca had left for the spaceport, after all the wrapping paper had been thrown away, Aster and Kessel held up two objects their mother had presented them with earlier. The holocube showed a tall Corellian man with a dark jacket and bloodstripes, holding their mother close to his side, while the painting showed the same man lounging comfortably in what appeared to be the same clothes.

"Mom?" Aster asked, holding up the holocube. His shaggy hair was styled much like the man depicted in it. "Who is this?"

"That's Han Solo," Leia answered, taking the holocube from her son's hands. "You learned about him at school the other day, remember?"

The twins nodded, and Leia continued, "Well, he was your father."

"But what about Kal?" Kessel asked after a moment of confused silence. There were several holos of Kal and the kids together, but none with them and Han, so when they had asked 'who is that?' and their mother answered 'your father,' they didn't question it much more. But now she was telling them someone _else_ was their father.

"Aster, Kessel, come here." The twins sat on either side on the couch, facing their mother. Kessel put the painting on the table, and Leia set the holocube next to it. Looking over the two images of Han Solo at her children, she said, "Let me tell you about your fathers..."

**Random Facts #15-18: -Originally, the story would never reveal what was wrong with Han and he dropped hints via thoughts throughout, he also never revealed that he was dying.**

**-I wasn't going to have a cure for Han, and after adding it, the part where Leia finds out wasn't going to be written.**

**-For a very long time, Han had proposed on Endor in chapter two.  
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**-The bantha toy is based off the toy my friend made for herself. She also made me one. His name is Harrison.**

**I'm very sorry about Han, but please, tell me what you thought! Reviews mean a lot! And thank you all for sticking with me on this story. I know you probably didn't get quite what you expected, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I'm working now on another story in which Han isn't _Captain_ Han Solo... he's _Prince_ Han Solo. It's a mutual project with leapylion3, although we're actually writing two separate stories.  
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